President Donald Trump has announced that Alina Habba, counselor to the president, will step in as interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, effective immediately.
Habba, 40, succeeds John Giordano in the role of interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.
Giordano, who was sworn in on March 3, “will now be nominated as the new Ambassador to Namibia!” Trump wrote. “Congratulations to Alina and John!”
Habba, a New Jersey native, rose to prominence as a member of Trump’s legal team while defending him against civil lawsuits brought by writer E. Jean Carroll and New York Attorney General Letitia James. She also acted as a spokesperson for him outside of the courtroom during his criminal trials and his 2024 presidential campaign.
Responding to the president’s announcement, Habba wrote on social media platform X that she is “honored to serve” her home state and grateful for “this tremendous responsibility.”
Habba expanded on those comments while speaking with reporters outside the White House, promising to end “corruption,” “injustice,” and “a heavy amount of crime” in the Garden State.
Attributing those problems in part to the state’s leadership, she said she felt that Gov. Phil Murphy and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) have failed New Jersey.
“If you look at what happened in crime, what’s going on in Newark, what’s going on in Camden, this has been a neglected state,” Habba said. “It is one of the most populated states for its size, and it needs to stop. We’re going to do a bang-up job. I cannot wait. It’s a great honor.”
She said she looks forward to working with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice to implement the president’s “America First” agenda and go after “the people that we should be going after, not the people that are falsely accused. That will stop in the great state of New Jersey starting now.”
