A possible standoff is brewing over who will replace Alina Habba as US attorney in New Jersey with her interim appointment set to expire Friday.
Desiree Leigh Grace, a top prosecutor fired by the Justice Department Tuesday after she was tapped by the federal judges in the state to replace Habba, is vowing to take over the job “in accordance with the law.”
To do so, Grace would have to be sworn in by a federal judge just after midnight Friday when Habba ceases to be US attorney – and defy Attorney General Pam Bondi who ousted her from her job as New Jersey’s first assistant US attorney.
The Justice Department hasn’t said what it plans to do with the position, other than Bondi and Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, decrying the appointment of Grace and accusing the judges of political motivations and attempting to usurp President Donald Trump’s appointment powers.
If Grace assumes the job, the president could fire her.
The department could still outmaneuver the judges by having Habba leave before midnight Friday and appointing a new interim US attorney, a move they’ve used in other cases.
Grace posted a lengthy message Wednesday on LinkedIn thanking colleagues and pushing back that politics played any part in how she did her job. She ended her post with a defiant vow to take over the job she was appointed to by the judges.
“Yesterday the District Judges for the District of New Jersey selected me to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. It will forever be the greatest honor that they selected me on merit, and I’m prepared to follow that Order and begin to serve in accordance with the law,” she wrote.
Grace continued, “I’ve served under both Republican and Democratic administrations. I’ve been promoted four times in the last five years by both — including four months ago by this administration. Politics never impacted my work at the Department.”
Habba and the Justice Department both declined to comment when reached by CNN. Grace did not respond to CNN’s request for additional comment.
The dispute is a consequence of the slow pace of the US Senate to approve Trump’s US attorney nominations. Habba and other interim US attorneys could run out of the allotted 120 days they are allowed to serve. Under federal law, if the administration doesn’t fill the job and the Senate doesn’t confirm a nominee, federal judges in the district can select a temporary US attorney.
