“A ‘Terrible Thing’: Trump Loyalist Habba Forced to Step Aside”

Alina Habba’s rise from Donald Trump’s combative personal attorney to the acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey felt like the script of a political drama — and now, the third act has arrived with a dramatic resignation.

Habba announced she is stepping down from the role she fought fiercely to hold, saying she was doing it “to protect the stability and integrity of the office I love.” Of course, she couldn’t resist a Jersey-style sign-off, adding: “You can take the girl out of New Jersey, but you can’t take New Jersey out of the girl.” She will remain at the Department of Justice as a senior adviser to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Her exit caps months of legal and political wrangling. Trump appointed Habba as acting prosecutor back in March 2025 and nominated her for permanent confirmation. But the process froze instantly when New Jersey’s two Democratic senators objected — a courtesy rule that gives home-state lawmakers power to block federal nominees. After 120 days without Senate approval, Habba’s authority timed out and another prosecutor was installed. The administration then took an acrobatic legal route to put Habba back in charge anyway.

A federal judge saw it differently — ruling that Habba had no right to serve once her nomination stalled. The administration appealed, and lost again. So now, the self-declared Jersey fighter is stepping aside, at least while appeals and back-channel strategies continue. Bondi insists the legal push isn’t over and says Habba intends to return when the courts let her.

President Trump, never one to underplay frustration, responded with a mix of loyalty and indignation. “Well, she’s not unqualified,” he said, before blasting the Senate consent system as “a terrible thing” that makes it “impossible to appoint a judge or a U.S. attorney.” He even scolded his own party: “Republicans should be ashamed that they allow this to continue.”

So is this the end of the Habba saga? Not likely. If anything, it’s just a cliffhanger — the kind that keeps political junkies glued to their screens. After all, in New Jersey politics, the sequel is usually already in production.