Trump Aide To Be Interim US Attorney
Alina Habba’s name has been synonymous with Trump’s legal defense in recent years, and now it’s taking on a new title: interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. For those who’ve followed the spectacle of political lawfare closely, her elevation isn’t just a reward—it’s a statement.
President Trump’s announcement, made with trademark flourish on social media, lauded Habba as someone who has represented him with “diligence and conviction” and who will now bring that same energy to her home state. The message was clear: New Jersey, long a bastion of Democratic control, is about to get a federal prosecutor who won’t play nice with the status quo.
Habba’s journey to this point is as unconventional as it is dramatic. She entered Trump’s orbit not through establishment pathways or Beltway credentials, but by grabbing the reins of a defamation case brought by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos. That case was later dropped, but Habba stayed in the fold, becoming one of Trump’s most visible defenders during some of the most contentious courtroom battles of his post-presidency—battles that critics claimed were politically motivated attacks from the Biden DOJ and state-level Democratic prosecutors.
Time to make New Jersey great again! LET’S ROLL https://t.co/HsXXnOuiRn
— Alina Habba (@AlinaHabba) March 24, 2025
Her media presence was impossible to ignore. Confident, combative, and always on message, Habba became a fixture on television screens during the E. Jean Carroll defamation suit and New York Attorney General Letitia James’s civil fraud case. Despite the legal setbacks, she earned accolades from the MAGA base for going on offense—questioning not just the charges, but the very legitimacy of the system bringing them. For Trump, loyalty and fearlessness count. Habba delivered both.
That reputation now shifts from courtroom defense to courtroom offense. In her first remarks as U.S. Attorney, Habba made it clear she’s not just there to shuffle paper or keep the lights on. She directly called out Senator Cory Booker and Governor Phil Murphy, accusing them of presiding over corruption and failure. She pledged to partner with Pam Bondi and the DOJ to clean up “the mess” and to go after the right targets.
Alina Habba: "President Trump has just put out a statement that he has appointed me as the interim U.S. attorney for the state of New Jersey, my home state...There is corruption, there is injustice, and there is a heavy amount of crime right in Cory Booker's backyard." pic.twitter.com/2HXRrycr6V
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 24, 2025
Her appointment is also notable in that it’s a high-profile reversal of traditional political appointments. It’s not every day a president taps a personal lawyer to head a U.S. Attorney’s office. But with Trump’s presidency already defined by disruption and reshuffling, Habba’s placement fits the mold—and sends a signal to other states that the administration is prepared to put trusted fighters in key legal posts.
Critics will no doubt seize on her legal missteps—particularly the Clinton-Russia civil lawsuit that led to a nearly $1 million sanction from a federal judge. But supporters see something different: a relentless advocate, willing to push boundaries, take the hits, and keep swinging.