Drama is exploding in the Garden State’s top legal office, as chaos swirls around Donald Trump’s handpicked interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba.

In a marathon legal tussle, the Department of Justice is begging a federal appeals court to rethink its earlier verdict that tossed out Trump’s controversial appointment of Habba, a former personal attorney to the ex-president.

Here’s how the saga unfolded: Back in March 2025, Trump—serving his second turn as commander in chief—announced Habba as his interim chief federal prosecutor for New Jersey. It was supposed to be the opening act for her permanent pick, but whispers of resistance were already echoing in the halls of the Senate, threatening to derail her confirmation before it even began.

Determined to keep their chosen candidate in the game, the DOJ started a wild maneuver, yanking Habba’s nomination at the last minute. Habba herself briefly stepped aside, then—just as quickly—her top deputy was fired, paving the way for Habba to slide right back in as acting boss. With the dust barely settled, New Jersey’s federal judges dropped a bombshell, voting against Habba and throwing support behind the ousted first assistant, Desiree Leigh Grace, instead.

Flash forward to August 2025: federal criminal defendants challenged Habba’s authority to sit at the prosecution’s table, and U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann (an Obama-era appointee now stationed in Pennsylvania) delivered a knockout punch, ruling Habba was unlawfully running the office. When the legal fight climbed up to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, a trio of judges doubled down in December, cementing Brann’s decision.

The Trump administration, refusing to back down, is now demanding the full appeals bench take another look. Their 21-page filing slams the earlier panel for bungling the interpretation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, arguing that past presidents routinely skipped such legal hurdles without interference from the courts. If the panel’s decision stands, Trump’s team insists, it could torpedo future presidential transitions.

At the heart of the controversy is whether Habba dodged proper appointment procedures, essentially serving as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor without the blessing of Congress. The appellate panel called her a ‘de facto’ leader—a label the DOJ finds outrageous, warning it sets a dangerous precedent.

Now, as the political and legal fireworks continue, all eyes are on whether Trump and the DOJ can wrestle back control and reinstall Habba at the helm—or if New Jersey’s federal law enforcement stays locked in this historic power struggle.