President Trump on Monday tapped White House counselor Alina Habba to serve as interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.
A New Jersey native, Habba represented Trump in high-stakes New York civil trials, including the business fraud case where he was ordered to pay $454 million for falsely inflating his net worth, and the defamation and sexual assault lawsuits brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who won nearly $100 million at two jury trials.
"Alina will lead with the same diligence and conviction that has defined her career, and she will fight tirelessly to secure a Legal System that is both 'Fair and Just' for the wonderful people of New Jersey," Trump wrote on his Truth Social
Speaking with reporters after the announcement, Habba said “corruption” and “injustice” in the state would be stopped under her leadership, name-checking Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) as having “failed the state.”
“I look forward to working with Pam Bondi with the Department of Justice and making sure that we further the president's agenda of putting America first, cleaning up mess and going after the people that we should be going after, not the people that are falsely accused,” she said. “That will stop in the great state of New Jersey, starting now.”
The decision comes days after a federal judge transferred the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University alum and green-card holder detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to the Garden State. The office Habba now leads is expected to handle the Khalil's prosecution.
Habba emerged as one of Trump's fiercest media surrogates while one of his personal attorneys, defending the then-former president with vigor both in the courtroom and on TV. She became Trump's legal spokesperson and a senior adviser to his campaign, speaking at the Republican National Convention and campaign rallies in the fall.
A first-generation American who runs an eponymous law firm, she entered Trump’s orbit when she took over a defamation lawsuit brought against Trump by former “Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who later dropped the case.
She also represented Trump in a civil lawsuit against 2016 presidential rival Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and dozens of other defendants, which resulted in a federal judge sanctioning Trump and Habba nearly $1 million for a "continuing pattern of misuse of the courts."
John Giordano, who was previously serving as interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, was also nominated by Trump to serve as ambassador to Namibia.
Alex Gangitano contributed.
Updated at 11:52 a.m. EDT
