The top Democrat in the House took a swipe at Alina Habba, the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, after she announced plans to charge a sitting member of Congress with assault.
Habba has held high-profile roles but had no prior prosecutorial experience and limited federal court experience prior to her appointment as interim U.S. attorney in March. On Monday, she sparked fierce backlash for charging Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) with assault during a congressional visit to a federal immigration detention center in Newark.
"That conduct cannot be overlooked by the chief federal law enforcement official in the State of New Jersey, and it is my Constitutional obligation to ensure that our federal law enforcement is protected when executing their duties," wrote Habba in a news release. "I have persistently made efforts to address these issues without bringing criminal charges and have given Representative McIver every opportunity to come to a resolution, but she has unfortunately declined."
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In a statement, McIver called the charges politically motivated and an effort to impede congressional oversight.
"We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short," wrote McIver. "This administration will never stop me from working for the people in our district and standing up for what is right. I am thankful for the outpouring of support I have received and I look forward to the truth being laid out clearly in court."
But House Minority Hakeem Jeffries gave a more blunt assessment of Trump's acting attorney.
"Alina Habba is a partisan hack and Trump lackey who will never be confirmed as a United States Attorney," he chided on X on Tuesday evening.
That post came hours after he and other House Democratic leaders said in a shared statement that the charge was "extreme, morally bankrupt and lacks any basis in law or fact."
