{"id":2466464,"date":"2025-07-24T21:08:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T01:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-fight-to-keep-alina-habba-ignites-new-executive-power-struggle-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T21:10:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T01:10:39","slug":"trump-fight-to-keep-alina-habba-ignites-new-executive-power-struggle-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-fight-to-keep-alina-habba-ignites-new-executive-power-struggle-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump fight to keep Alina Habba ignites new executive power struggle &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-fight-to-keep-alina-habba-ignites-new-executive-power-struggle-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2466464&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Alina Habba has been allowed by the Trump administration to continue serving as the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey despite an unusual move to withdraw her official nomination. Her interim term was set to expire, but the White House withdrew her nomination as a workaround to the Federal Vacancies Reform act, enabling her to remain in an acting capacity. Meanwhile, a panel of district judges appointed her deputy, Desiree Grace, to lead the office, but attorney General Pam Bondi rejected this ruling and terminated GraceS employment, asserting presidential authority over the Department of Justice appointments. Grace has indicated she may challenge her removal in court. The situation highlights tensions over the appointment and removal powers of federal prosecutors, especially involving court-appointed interim officials, and echoes previous disputes between the executive branch and courts over federal appointments. President Trump has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/treasury-white-house-confident-in-regulators-response-on-silicon-valley-bank-collapse\/\" title=\"Treasury, White House: Confident in Regulators Response on Silicon Valley Bank Collapse\">expressed full confidence<\/a> in Habba&#8217;s eventual Senate confirmation amid ongoing legal and political controversy.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Alina Habba becomes acting US attorney in New Jersey<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2180061\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump administration<\/a>&nbsp;cleared the way for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alina-habba\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alina Habba<\/a>&nbsp;to remain in her role as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-muscles-out-chicago-prosecutor-hot-on-the-heels-of-powerful-dems\/\" title=\"Biden Muscles Out Chicago Prosecutor Hot on the Heels of Powerful Dems\">top federal prosecutor<\/a> in New Jersey on Thursday, an unusual move to withdraw her from consideration, enabling her to serve in an acting capacity.<\/p>\n<p>Habba&rsquo;s tenure as interim U.S. attorney was set to expire on Friday, but she announced on social media that she would remain as New Jersey&rsquo;s acting U.S. attorney after the Department of Justice confirmed the White House withdrew her nomination in a workaround effort to keep her in her role. Earlier this week, a panel of district judges appointed her top deputy, Desiree Grace, to lead the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/us-attorney\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. Attorney&rsquo;s Office<\/a>&nbsp;for the District of New Jersey.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3481338\/ninth-circuit-sides-with-oregon-mom-adoption-gender-ideology\/\">Ninth Circuit sides with Oregon mom denied adoption over not affirming gender ideology<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3481383\/paxton-mortgage-fraud-bipartisan-pattern-trump-schiff-feud\/\">Paxton mortgage fraud allegations highlight bipartisan pattern after Trump-Schiff feud<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/3481554\/doj-sues-eric-adams-sanctuary-city-policies-nyc\/\">DOJ sues Eric Adams and NYC as feud with Trump heats up over sanctuary policies<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">White House counselor Alina Habba arrives at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ben Curtis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t cower to pressure,&rdquo; Habba <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/USAttyHabba\/status\/1948489536507707793\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">said<\/a> Thursday evening, one day after Grace, also a Republican, posted to social media that she would assume her former boss&rsquo;s position. &ldquo;I am now the acting United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey,&rdquo; she said, adding, &ldquo;This is a fight for justice.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">Attorney General&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pam-bondi\" target=\"_blank\">Pam Bondi<\/a>&nbsp;swiftly rejected the j<\/span>udges&rsquo; ruling and terminated Grace&rsquo;s employment, accusing the judges of attempting to subvert President&nbsp;Donald Trump&rsquo;s authority over the&nbsp;Department of Justice. Trump said he has &ldquo;full confidence&rdquo; that Habba will be confirmed despite the ongoing uncertainty for her role.<\/p>\n<p>But in a pointed post to LinkedIn Wednesday night, Grace defied the move, saying she was &ldquo;prepared to follow&rdquo; the court&rsquo;s order and &ldquo;begin to serve in accordance with the law,&rdquo; possibly as soon as this Friday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/23\/nyregion\/desiree-grace-new-jersey-us-attorney.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">when ranking DOJ officials have said<\/a> Habba&rsquo;s term is set to end.<\/p>\n<p>    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/embed\/feed\/update\/urn:li:share:7353908925856923650?collapsed=1\" height=\"263\" width=\"504\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" title=\"Embedded post\"><\/iframe>    <\/p>\n<p>The political calculus behind withdrawing Habba&rsquo;s nomination serves as a workaround to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which does not allow the nominee for a Senate-confirmed office to hold the post on an acting basis.<\/p>\n<p>Before the decision to make her acting U.S. attorney, the dispute between the Trump administration surrounded a little-known Civil War-era statute that allows district courts to appoint an interim U.S. attorney once a 120-day appointment expires, a concept that raised significant questions about whether a judge-appointed prosecutor can be removed without the president&rsquo;s direct involvement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If Grace was appointed by the court to be U.S. Attorney under&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/28\/546\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">28 U.S.C. &sect; 546(d)<\/a>, then only the president can remove her,&rdquo; said former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani. &ldquo;That is a U.S. attorney &mdash; not an assistant &mdash; and they are presidentially removable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration and conservative attorneys have argued that there is no reason why Bondi should defer to the president&rsquo;s actions in removing Grace, suggesting that doing so only diminishes the role of the president&rsquo;s leadership selections in the DOJ.<\/p>\n<p>Former Trump campaign surrogate David Gelman called the judges&rsquo; move not to reappoint Habba &ldquo;ridiculous,&rdquo; arguing, &ldquo;Their job is to manage the DOJ. And who is the head of the DOJ? Pam Bondi. She has been put there by Donald Trump.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So the president is going to have to go and fire every person in government who their supervisor thinks isn&rsquo;t performing their duties? It&rsquo;s a preposterous theory,&rdquo; Gelman said, describing the judges who declined to extend Habba&rsquo;s time in her role as &ldquo;activist&rdquo; and politically motivated.<\/p>\n<p>Rahmani said that judges are typically willing to give an interim appointee some leeway past the 120-day deadline while waiting for the Senate to confirm a nominee.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not common for a district court to not extend an interim appointment when they haven&rsquo;t been confirmed,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Assuming they&rsquo;re not completely unqualified, courts usually extend the appointment as a matter of course. In this case, they didn&rsquo;t&mdash;and that&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;re in the situation we&rsquo;re in.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It remains unclear whether Grace intends to challenge removal from her post. The DOJ did not respond to requests for comment, while Deputy U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/23\/nyregion\/desiree-grace-new-jersey-us-attorney.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">implied<\/a> to the <em>New York Times <\/em>that Grace was already fired by the DOJ &ldquo;pursuant to the president&rsquo;s authority.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rahmani added that if Trump fired Grace and no Senate-confirmed or interim replacement was named, Bondi herself would be forced to exercise direct authority over the office. &ldquo;There will be no U.S. attorney in that district who can do the tasks of the U.S. attorney,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So the attorney general will have to step in and act for that district.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The showdown echoes earlier&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/executive-branch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">executive branch<\/a>&nbsp;fights, such as the 2017 case when Leandra English sued the Trump administration after claiming she, not Mick Mulvaney, was the rightful acting head of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cfpb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<\/a>. English eventually dropped her challenge.<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, a similar controversy erupted when then-Attorney General William Barr ousted&nbsp;Geoffrey Berman&nbsp;after judges attempted to keep him in place beyond his interim term. Barr insisted in a letter that court-appointed U.S. attorneys are &ldquo;subject to removal by the President.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Critics of the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >rare court-appointed prosecutor process argue<\/a> that giving judges appointment power over federal prosecutors risks undermining executive control.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Paul Clement, a veteran Supreme Court litigator who has<span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">, in recent months, been on the other side of the &ldquo;v.&rdquo; against the Trump<\/span> administration,&nbsp;told&nbsp;the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals&rsquo; judicial conference Thursday that judges appointing executive officers is a &ldquo;weird provision.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Maybe my conservative is peeking out here, but that&rsquo;s an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-senator-asks-two-biden-cabinet-members-whether-high-ranking-officials-are-using-encrypted-apps-to-cloak-communications\/\" title=\"GOP Senator Asks Two Biden Cabinet Members Whether \u2018High Ranking\u2019 Officials Are Using Encrypted Apps To \u2018Cloak\u2019 Communications\">executive branch official<\/a>,&rdquo; Clement said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s weird to have the judges be in that role.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3478711\/alina-habba-replaced-top-prosecutor-new-jersey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ALINA HABBA REPLACED AS NEW JERSEY&rsquo;S TOP PROSECUTOR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For now, all eyes are on whether Grace seeks to file a challenge to the Trump administration&rsquo;s efforts to thwart the judges&rsquo; moves to appoint her as New Jersey&rsquo;s top prosecutor. Trump remains committed to seeing Habba confirmed for a permanent role by the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>contacted Grace but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2180061\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2180061\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alina Habba stays as acting US attorney in New Jersey after Trump admin withdraws her nomination<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2466465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/habba-acting-attorney.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33520,49703,32869,3634,32076],"class_list":["post-2466464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-alina-habba","tag-executive-power","tag-legal-battle","tag-trump","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/habba-acting-attorney.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2466464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2466464"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2466464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2466468,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2466464\/revisions\/2466468"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2466465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2466464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2466464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2466464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}