President Donald Trump on Monday named his one-time defense attorney and current White House counselor Alina Habba to be the interim top federal prosecutor in the District of New Jersey (article available here).
Habba, who turns 41 Tuesday, takes over the interim post from John Giordano, whom was sworn in as New Jersey’s interim U.S. attorney earlier this month.
A partner in a small New Jersey law firm near Trump’s Bedminster golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump’s political action committee, defended him in court in several civil lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year as he volleyed between courtrooms and the campaign trail.
Habba attended Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Pennsylvania, graduating in 2011. She served a yearlong clerkship with New Jersey Superior Court then worked in private practice at two separate firms before starting her own practice in 2020.
She lists no prosecutorial experience in an online biography and has had limited federal court experience.
Habba did not answer repeated questions on why she was appointed on an interim basis rather than permanently.