Former interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba's appointment was stalled in the Senate, and the only way she was going to keep her job was to have judges step in to save her. Instead, they stepped in to hand her job to someone else, and it's leading to chuckles across social media.
Habba was only able to stay in the post as an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days. Once that timeline has ended, if there is no person confirmed by the Senate, the judges can appoint someone who will remain until a person is confirmed by the Senate.
Legal correspondent for Business Insider, Jacob Shamsian, noted that the judges picked Habba's "assistant instead."
Politico's Daniel Han said that the news "sets up a potential showdown with the White House. Trump admin wanted Habba to keep the post."
"Oh no. NJ's judges don't want Alina Habba to stick around," mocked national security expert Marcy Wheeler on Bluesky.
Actor Jon Cryer argued, "Alina Habba lied about Ras Baraka. She should be disbarred."
"The new acting US Attorney should promptly dismiss the outrageous case brought against Congresswoman McIver," wrote Democracy Docket founder and elections lawyer Marc Elias.
Legal analyst Ken White quipped, "Alina Habba’s willingness to represent both sides in the same dispute should make it twice as easy for her to get a new job!"
Raw Story reported Monday that Habba is leaving behind an angry staff and pictures of herself on the walls. That report inspired legal analyst George Conway to mock, "moral of the story is that when you Habba ‘nuff you have to say it."
