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Jul 22, 2025  |  
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Former Trump defense attorney Alina Habba was replaced as U.S. Attorney in New Jersey on Tuesday, according to a court order, failing to secure the votes needed from the state’s federal judges to remain, after the Trump ally drew controversy during her tenure for charging Democratic politicians over their clashes with federal immigration agents.

Habba, whom Trump appointed to serve as the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, needed either Senate confirmation or a vote by the state’s federal judges in order to remain in her role past her initial 120-day term, which expired on Tuesday.

New Jersey’s Chief Judge Renée Marie Bumb confirmed Tuesday that Habba had not received the judicial votes to remain in the role, instead announcing that the judges had replaced her with Desiree Leigh Grace, a more experienced prosecutor who, The New York Times notes, was previously Habba’s first assistant.

Habba became known as one of Trump’s most vocal attorneys prior to her appointment as U.S. attorney, frequently appearing on television to advocate for Trump while also representing him in major cases like the civil fraud trial against Trump and his company and writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case against the president.

Since becoming U.S. Attorney, Habba has garnered controversy for her decisions to charge Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka and Rep. Monica McIver, D-N.J., in connection with their efforts to tour a federal immigration detention facility in the state—sparking a rebuke from the judge overseeing Baraka’s case, who chastised Habba’s office for its “worrisome misstep” in arresting the mayor after prosecutors swiftly dropped the charges.

While The Times notes that judges replacing a U.S. attorney like this is rare, it marks the second time they’ve done so since Trump’s second term began, also rejecting John A. Sarcone III as the U.S. attorney of the Northern District of New York.

The judges’ decision not to extend Habba’s term as U.S. attorney does not necessarily mean she’ll leave the office entirely. In Sarcone’s case, the Trump administration responded to judges rejecting his appointment by naming him as the “special attorney to the attorney general,” a role that carries the same responsibilities as the U.S. attorney despite the different title. It remains to be seen if Habba could now receive a similar appointment in New Jersey, or a different role within the Trump administration.

This story is breaking and will be updated.