Alina Habba Steps Down After Appeals Court Upholds Disqualification; Will Advise Attorney General While Exploring Further Review

Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced on December 8, 2025, that she will step down as the top federal prosecutor for the District of New Jersey after a federal appeals court affirmed a lower-court ruling that disqualified her. Habba said she will remain at the Department of Justice as a senior adviser to Attorney General Pam Bondi while she and her team consider further legal review.

Background: Habba was appointed by President Donald Trump in March 2025 after several years representing him and an affiliated super PAC. In August 2025, Judge Matthew S. Brann (specially presiding from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania) found that Habba "was not lawfully performing the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey." Brann wrote that the executive branch had sustained her appointment through a "novel series of legal and personnel moves," and concluded that Habba "has exercised the functions and duties of the office ... without lawful authority since July 1, 2025."

Brann warned that actions she took after July 1, 2025, "may be declared void," and ordered that because she was not qualified to serve in an acting capacity, she must be disqualified from participating in any ongoing cases. A unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (two Bush appointees and one Biden appointee) upheld Brann's ruling in early December 2025.

Habba's Response

In announcing her decision to step down, Habba framed the move as compliance intended to protect the office's stability and integrity while reserving the right to seek further review. She emphasized accomplishments during her tenure and criticized what she described as politicized opposition from judges and some senators.

"As a result of the Third Circuit’s ruling, and to protect the stability and integrity of the office which I love, I have decided to step down in my role as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. But do not mistake compliance for surrender. This decision will not weaken the Justice Department and it will not weaken me."

Habba said she will "continue to serve the Department of Justice as the Senior Advisor to the Attorney General for U.S. Attorneys" while her team pursues "further review of the court's ruling." Her statement highlighted crime-reduction efforts in New Jersey and reiterated her view that political forces have sought to impede her work.

What This Means

The court rulings mean Habba may not take part in ongoing prosecutions handled by the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office, and some actions she took after July 1, 2025, could be overturned. The Department of Justice will need to ensure that qualified officials lawfully authorized to act in that role oversee any affected matters while potential appeals or reviews proceed.

Note: The full text of Habba's statement was released publicly on December 8, 2025.