Trump wants Alina Habba to stay as U.S. attorney in N.J. Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker say absolutely not.
Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba has prosecuted Democratic elected officials in New Jersey and Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim say she isn't fit to keep the position.
President Donald Trump nominated Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, to remain in the post. Democrats aren’t having it.
Trump nominated Habba to the interim role in March and on Tuesday sent her name to the U.S. Senate for confirmation for the full four-year term. Habba, 41, previously represented Trump in personal cases and worked as a campaign spokesperson for him. She had no prosecutorial experience until Trump nominated her earlier this year, which is uncommon for someone in the role.
In a joint statement, Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker, Democrats who represent New Jersey, said Habba has “degraded the office and pursued frivolous and politically motivated prosecutions.”
Habba’s interim appointment expires in a few weeks, and she would need to be confirmed by the Senate to stay on, or federal district court judges in the state could vote to keep her in the role until a nomination is confirmed.
The Senate traditionally defers to the home senators for these nominations, so Kim and Booker’s remarks hold significant weight. Whether the full Senate even votes on Habba’s appointmentdepends on Kim and Booker changing their minds, which is unlikely, or Senate Republicans breaking longtime custom.
“The people of New Jersey deserve a U.S. Attorney that has deep experience with law enforcement, a reputation and an approach that puts partisanship to the side, and who will work to keep our communities safe and impartially pursue justice,” the Democratic senators said.
“It’s clear that Alina Habba does not meet the standard to serve the people of New Jersey,” they added.
Habba worked as a partner in a small law firm near Trump’s Bedminster golf course and was a senior adviser for Trump’s political action committee, and most of her experience is in state courts, not federal. She has unabashedly politicized the office and said she wants to help the “cause” of flipping New Jersey red in the top prosecutor position, which has served as a springboard for public officials.
In April, Habba ordered an investigation of Gov. Phil Murphy and state Attorney General Matthew Platkin, both Democrats, for allegedly refusing to cooperate with Trump’s immigration crackdown.
She prosecuted two New Jersey Democratic elected officials in their district after a May tussle with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside Delaney Hall, a new federal immigration detention center in Newark.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested outside the facility, and she charged him with criminal trespassing during his gubernatorial campaign before dropping the case less than two weeks later. She then charged U.S. Rep. Monica McIver with assault, also pointing to the scuffle with ICE. McIver called the charges “purely political” and said they “mischaracterize and distort” her actions and “are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa scolded Habba’s case against Baraka, and Baraka sued Habba in June, accusing her of defamation and “false arrest and malicious prosecution.”
Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee for New Jersey governor, said “it’s critically important that we have a US Attorney who will stand with law enforcement and crack down on crime in our communities,” and that Habba would do that.
“She deserves an up or down vote and serious consideration from the full Senate,” he added.
U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee for New Jersey governor and a former federal prosecutor, denounced Habba and Ciattarelli’s embrace of her.
“Habba has explicitly stated her goal to politicize the office where I served as a prosecutor, and as acting U.S. Attorney, she has already weaponized it against her perceived political opponents,” Sherrill said in a statement.