Alina Habba cannot serve as New Jersey’s top prosecutor. President Donald Trump has faced a challenging November, and the difficulties continue into the first day of the Yuletide season.
His former personal lawyer, Alina Habba, has been disqualified from serving as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor. This decision was upheld by an appeals court on Monday, December 1, 2025, despite efforts by his administration to keep her in that position.
A panel of judges from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in Philadelphia sided with a lower court’s ruling after hearing oral arguments on Oct. 20, during which Habba was present.
The panel wrote the following in a 32-page opinion:
“It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place. Its efforts to elevate its preferred candidate for U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, to the role of Acting U.S. Attorney demonstrate the difficulties it has faced — yet the citizens of New Jersey and the loyal employees in the U.S. Attorney’s Office deserve some clarity and stability.
It concluded: “We will affirm the District Court’s disqualification order.”
The ruling comes amid the push by Trump’s Republican administration to keep Habba as the acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey, a powerful post charged with enforcing federal criminal and civil law. It also comes after the judges questioned the government’s moves to keep Habba in place after her interim appointment expired, and without her getting Senate confirmation.
After the hearing, Habba stated on X that she was advocating for other candidates for federal prosecutor positions who have been denied a Senate hearing.
The White House had no immediate comment on Habba and referred questions to the Justice Department.
The decision confirmed that Habba is serving unlawfully, according to the attorneys representing the appellees in an emailed statement.
“We will continue to challenge President Trump’s unlawful appointments of so-called U.S. Attorneys wherever appropriate,” stated attorneys Abbe Lowell, Gerry Krovatin, and Norm Eisen.