Topline
Desiree Grace, the prosecutor whom judges appointed to replace ex-Trump lawyer Alina Habba as New Jersey’s U.S. attorney, has filed a long-shot complaint challenging the Trump administration’s decision to fire her, Bloomberg reports, as the Justice Department’s decision to keep Habba on after her initial term expired has sparked legal challenges.
Grace filed a complaint with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, which handles federal employees’ disputes over their employment, according to Bloomberg, citing a filing obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The Justice Department fired Grace on July 22, hours after the state’s federal judges voted for her to become the U.S. attorney in New Jersey—appointing her to the role instead of extending Habba’s term.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Grace, who had been serving as Habba’s first assistant, had been “removed” after “politically minded judges refused to allow [Habba] to continue in her position.”
The DOJ then used a complex legal maneuver to keep Habba on as acting U.S. attorney, despite her tenure as the interim attorney expiring and the Senate not voting on her confirmation to permanently fill the role.
Grace, who had previously suggested she still intended to try and serve as U.S. attorney, argued to the Merit Systems Protection Board that her firing was “completely unjustified” and was in “direct retaliation” for her being named to the U.S. attorney role, as quoted by Bloomberg.
Grace, the Justice Department and the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board have not yet responded to requests for comment.
As of now, it’s unlikely. The board lacks a quorum after President Donald Trump fired one of its Democratic appointees earlier this year, which means it can’t actually decide cases right now. Board member Cathy Harris’ lawsuit challenging her firing is still moving forward in court, but the Supreme Court let Trump fire her while it does, and it’s unclear if the case will ultimately be resolved in Harris’ favor and result in her being reinstated.
The Trump administration’s decision to override the opinion of the New Jersey judges and keep Habba on as U.S. attorney has sparked new legal challenges. Several defendants being prosecuted on criminal charges in New Jersey have argued Habba was not lawfully appointed, and thus the indictments against them are invalid and should be dropped. A Pennsylvania court will hear arguments on Aug. 15 over that dispute, after it was moved out of New Jersey due to judges’ involvement with Habba’s initial ouster.
Grace is a 37-year-old veteran prosecutor who has been serving in the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office since 2016, The New York Times reports, citing her LinkedIn profile. She had been serving as the second-in-command at the office prior to her termination, after previously holding roles leading the office’s violent crimes and criminal divisions, in which she prosecuted gang members, securing convictions against multiple members of MS-13. Grace is a registered Republican, according to the Times, and had previously earned high praise from Habba, who reportedly said in May that appointing Grace as her deputy was the best decision she had made as U.S. attorney.
Habba was named as the U.S. attorney in New Jersey in March after becoming well-known as one of Trump’s most vocal legal advocates. The lawyer began representing Trump in 2021—after previously serving as the attorney for a parking garage—and was on his legal team for such major cases as the civil fraud trial against Trump and his company and a defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. Habba did not have any prosecutorial experience prior to becoming U.S. attorney, but frequently advocated for Trump in the media and in court, earning her a spot as a White House adviser before being named as a U.S. attorney. The DOJ’s decision to override the will of the judges by keeping Habba in place comes as the White House has repeatedly attacked judges for issuing opinions against the administration, and as Trump has tried to use the DOJ in order to advance his agenda and punish his critics. In addition to Habba, the Trump administration used similar legal maneuvering to keep another U.S. attorney, John Sarcone III, in place after judges in the Northern District of New York also declined to extend his term.