Alina Habba has officially had enough—and she’s saying it loud and clear. After months of watching her nomination to serve as President Trump’s pick for U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey bounce around the courts like a political ping-pong ball, Habba announced Monday that she is voluntarily stepping away from the role. But she didn’t leave without a warning shot: “Do not mistake compliance for surrender.” Classic Habba—direct, bold, and absolutely not backing down.
Habba, who served as President Trump’s personal attorney, made the decision after the latest court ruling threw yet another obstacle in her path. A three-judge panel from the Third Circuit claimed that allowing her to continue serving would “effectively permit anyone to fill the U.S. Attorney role indefinitely.” Right—because heaven forbid someone actually qualified do the job instead of whoever the Democrats prefer.
As reported, the president’s efforts to place Habba in this critical New Jersey position have been blocked at every turn. Thanks to the infamous “blue-slip” maneuver—weaponized by Democrat Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim—her nomination stalled. So Habba was placed as an assistant to Attorney General Pam Bondi, only for the courts to declare that, too, unacceptable. Apparently the rules only matter when they can be used to stop President Trump.
Bondi didn’t mince words about the court’s latest move, calling the decision “flawed” and expressing that she was “saddened to accept Alina’s resignation.” And who can blame her? Under Habba’s leadership, Newark saw a 20% reduction in crime and Camden recorded zero murders during the summer—a milestone the city hadn’t achieved in fifty years. You’d think results like that would matter, but not when politics gets in the way.
So what’s next? Habba isn’t going far. She’ll now serve as Senior Advisor to the Attorney General for U.S. Attorneys, where she’ll help “drive the fight against violent crime nationwide.” Sounds like a promotion to me.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is preparing to seek further review of the Third Circuit decision. If it gets reversed, Bondi has made it clear: Habba will be right back in the role she earned through results, not politics. And judging by Habba’s own words—“You can take the girl out of New Jersey, but you cannot take the New Jersey out of the girl”—she’s more than ready.
At the end of the day, one thing is certain: Alina Habba isn’t done fighting, and neither is this movement. The best is yet to come.
