Alina Habba, the former lawyer to President Donald Trump, has resigned from her position as acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey on Monday (8 December) after a federal appeals court ruled that her appointment was unlawful.
The decision disqualified Habba from overseeing cases, bringing months of legal uncertainty regarding her appointment to a close.
Habba, who was appointed to the role by Trump in March, issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter), explaining that her resignation was necessary "to protect the stability and integrity of the office." She acknowledged the ongoing legal challenges to her appointment, which had created a cloud of uncertainty over her tenure.
"However, do not mistake compliance for surrender," Habba said, signalling that her resignation was not an admission of defeat but rather a strategic move to safeguard the office’s functioning amid the legal challenges.
In her statement, Habba also announced she would be taking on a new role as senior adviser to Attorney General Pam Bondi. In this capacity, she will focus on U.S. Attorneys across the country. Following her resignation, the Justice Department appointed three experienced lawyers to oversee leadership of the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Jersey on an interim basis.
The Justice Department has not yet appealed the ruling, but Bondi said in a statement on Monday that it planned "to seek further review" of the decision and would reinstall Habba in the role if it were reversed. The department could ask either the U.S. Supreme Court or the full Third Circuit court to intervene.
Habba and Bondi both criticised federal judges in New Jersey for declining to extend Habba's appointment and pausing criminal cases after courts disqualified Habba from supervising them. Habba touted what she said was a decline in violent crime in major New Jersey cities and accused the courts of becoming "weapons for the politicised left."
The resignation came after a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled last week that the Trump administration had violated federal law by appointing Habba as acting U.S. attorney.
The three-judge panel that deemed Habba's appointment unlawful included two appointees of Republican President George W. Bush and one nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama.
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Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 7th of May, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Stocks around the world climbed to fresh record highs on Wednesday (6 May), while oil prices fell sharply, after reports suggested the United States and Iran were nearing an agreement to end conflict.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beijing on Wednesday, their first in-person talks since the U.S.-Israel war on Iran began, focusing on the fragile ceasefire and security in the Strait of Hormuz.
While the U.S. and Iran exchange strong messages over the Strait of Hormuz, their words may be misunderstood and lead to wider instability across the whole of the Middle East, according to a Baku-based political commentator.
The U.S military said it carried out retaliatory strikes on Iran on Thursday (7 May). Meanwhile, Iran's Joint Military Command accused the U.S. of breaching the ceasefire, by striking an Iranian oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and launching attacks on several Iranian cities.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran wanted to negotiate and make a deal in comments to reporters on Wednesday (6 May). But earlier, he warned Washington would ramp up attacks if no agreement was reached.
Argentinian authorities are reconstructing the journeys of Dutch citizens who presented with symptoms of deadly hantavirus after visiting Argentina and Chile as part of a luxury cruise trip, the country's Health Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday (6 May)
The 61st Venice Biennale has opened under grey skies and political tension, with disputes over Russia and Israel, resignations on the jury, and protests marking the start of one of the art world’s most high-profile events.
Latvian authorities said two drones entered NATO member Latvia from Russian territory and crashed on Thursday morning, with officials linking them to Ukraine’s wider drone operations against targets in Russia.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative recorded its strongest year since launch in 2025, with Chinese investment and construction activity surging across Asia, Africa and the Middle East despite years of criticism that the programme was losing momentum.
Two Chinese-British dual nationals have been found guilty by a London court of spying for China. Chung Biu “Bill” Yuen, 65, and Chi Leung “Peter” Wai, 40, targeted prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists living in the UK, whom they referred to as “cockroaches.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed five of eight suspected hantavirus cases linked to the luxury cruise ship MV Hondius. The U.N. health agency warned on Thursday (7 May) that more infections could emerge because of the virus’s long incubation period.
A group of Australian women and children detained for years in Kurdish-run camps in northeastern Syria due to links to Islamic State are expected to arrive in Australia on Thursday evening.
A South Korean appeals court on Thursday reduced former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s prison sentence from 23 years to 15 years over his role in ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief imposition of martial law in 2024.
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