The conservative legal group, Article III Project, is filing a judicial complaint against a federal judiciary panel of mostly Democrat-appointed judges after they decided not to extend Alina Habba’s term as President Trump’s interim New Jersey US attorney.
“House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries corruptly gave 17 New Jersey U.S. district judges their marching orders: ‘Fire New Jersey U.S. Attorney @AlinaHabba,’ “wrote Article III Project president Mike Davis on X following the panel’s decision. “And these New Jersey activist judges—15 of whom were appointed by Obama and Biden—saluted,” Davis continued. “This violated Canons 2, 3, and 5 of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges. @Article3Project will file a judicial misconduct complaint.”
President Donald Trump appointed Habba to the position on March 24 but her confirmation has been held up by Senate Democrats. Interim US attorneys are only allowed to serve for 120 days without a Senate confirmation but their term can be extended if the district court in their jurisdiction grants them an extension.
The 17 New Jersey district judges held a meeting Monday morning to decide whether to extend her position, which was set to expire at 11:59 p.m. Friday.
Chief US District Judge Renée Marie Bumb announced in a signed order Tuesday that the panel had opted against extending Habba’s term and appointed career prosecutor Desiree Leigh Grace to take over for her, effective immediately.
Later Tuesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi stepped in and promptly removed Grace from the position.
“US Atty Habba has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again. Nonetheless, politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position, replacing Alina with the First Assistant,” Bondi said in a statement posted on X at 4:18 pm.
“Accordingly, the First Assistant United States Attorney in New Jersey has just been removed,” Bondi continued. “This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges — especially when they threaten the President’s core Article II powers.”
Grace was reportedly promoted to first assistant under Habba shortly after she took office.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche released a statement on X earlier Tuesday, saying: “The district court judges in NJ are trying to force out @USAttyHabba before her term expires at 11:59 p.m. Friday.”
“Their rush reveals what this was always about: a left-wing agenda, not the rule of law,” Blanche added. “When judges act like activists, they undermine confidence in our justice system. Alina is President Trump’s choice to lead—and no partisan bench can override that.”
In cases where an appointment gets stalled in the Senate, federal law gives District judges the power to extend a nominee’s interim term until the vacancy is filled.
John Sarcone, Trump’s pick to lead a US attorney’s office based in Albany, was “rebuffed by a similar board of judges,” according to the New York Post, but the Trump administration “apparently found a workaround when Attorney General Pam Bondi made him a special assistant US attorney.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had previously indicated he would place a hold on Sarcone or any other Trump nominees for positions in the Empire State.
“I became ‘acting’ US attorney for an indefinite term,” Sarcone explained to the New York Law Journal, claiming he had “all the powers of the US attorney” as the top prosecutor in the Northern District of New York.
It’s unclear if the DOJ will pursue a similar path with Habba, who was blocked from beginning the traditional vetting process in the Senate.
New Jersey’s Democratic senators — Cory Booker and Andy Kim — both already opposed Habba’s confirmation, withholding their so-called “blue slips” to block the Judiciary Committee from considering Trump’s onetime personal attorney.
Without a blue slip, Habba’s only choice was to have her term extended by the New Jersey judges.
About an hour before Bondi’s statement, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said that the president had “full confidence in Alina Habba, whose work as acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey has made the Garden State and the nation safer.”
He added that the administration was looking forward to Ms. Habba’s confirmation in the U.S. Senate.
Davis said Jeffries targeted Habba because she had “brought an indictment against a low-life Democrat House member who allegedly assaulted federal immigration officers.”
Rep. Jeffries on Friday called for the judges to oust Habba from her position, claiming she had “maliciously indicted” Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ). A federal grand jury on June 10 returned a three-count indictment charging McIver with “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers” during an altercation at an immigration facility in Newark back in May.
“Habba is a woefully unqualified political hack who must go,” Jeffries wrote in his July 18 post on X. “She must be rejected by the Federal District Court Judges who are considering whether to retain her.”
The Article III Project filed a House Ethics complaint against the Democrat for “improperly inserting himself into a criminal proceeding,” and for trying to “strong arm” federal judges into taking a “purely political” action.
“This is clear corruption by House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries” Davis said.
Jeffries posted a video on social media Tuesday responding to the Article III Project’s ethics complaint against him.
The House minority leader reiterated his slanders against Habba, calling her “woefully unqualified,” a “political hack,” and a “total disgrace.” He then dismissed the ethics complaint as a “frivolous” waste of his time.
“I don’t give a damn about the so-called ethics complaint. It means nothing to me,” Jeffries said. “It is frivolous. It was filed by pettyfoggers who perhaps themselves should be disbarred.”
He added, “we will not be intimidated. Get lost.”
Davis fired back at Jeffries on X, saying: “Dear @hakeemjeffries: You sound rattled. If @Article3Project’s ethics complaint against you ‘means nothing to me,’ why are you talking about it? (Maybe we’re over the target?)”