Trump Blames GOP, 'Blue Slip' Practice After Alina Habba Resigns as U.S. Attorney

President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Republican senators and the Senate’s long-standing “blue slip” practice for blocking several of his U.S. attorney nominees, pointing to the recent resignation of his former personal lawyer, Alina Habba, as evidence of the problem.

Court Ruling And Resignation

Habba announced earlier Monday that she would step down as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled she had been unlawfully serving in the post by remaining beyond the limits of her interim term. The court found the administration’s maneuver to keep her in place violated the plain text of the statute governing temporary U.S. attorney appointments.

How The Office Was Filled

When Habba’s interim appointment expired in July, New Jersey’s federal judges refused to renew her temporary status and instead used a rarely invoked authority to appoint her first assistant as acting U.S. attorney. That successor was later removed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the White House withdrew Habba’s formal nomination while giving her alternative titles designed to preserve her control of the office — a strategy the appeals court ultimately rejected.

Political Fallout

“The Republicans should be ashamed of themselves that they allow this to go on. Because I can’t appoint a U.S. attorney that’s not a Democrat, because they put a block on it,” Trump said Monday, criticizing members of his own party for allowing the blue-slip tradition to stand.

Trump singled out Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R‑Iowa) for criticism, urging Republicans to alter how blue slips are handled. Grassley has defended the practice, arguing it gives home-state senators reciprocal influence and can be used to block nominees from either party. In August he wrote on X that the blue slip is a century-old tool allowing home-state input on U.S. attorneys and district judges and noted Republicans used similar tactics under the prior administration.

“While I was focused on delivering real results, judges in my state took advantage of a flawed blue slip tradition and became weapons for the politicized left,” Habba said in her resignation statement.

Broader Implications

Habba is one of four U.S. attorneys aligned with Trump whose nominations have been disqualified after stalling in the confirmation process. The administration is appealing disqualifications in at least two other districts (Nevada and the California district that includes Los Angeles) and has not yet appealed the disqualification of U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan in the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan’s disqualification led to the dismissal of criminal matters brought against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James; prosecutors failed to convince a grand jury to reindict James and are weighing whether to pursue additional charges against Comey.

The dispute highlights tensions between the White House, home-state senators, federal judges and the Justice Department over the proper process for filling U.S. attorney vacancies and the limits of interim appointments.