Trump’s pick for U.S. Attorney of New Jersey, Alina Habba, draws fire from Democrats

President Donald Trump has nominated controversial lawyer Alina Habba to a full term as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor — a move that elicited cheers from Make America Great Again politicians but drew the instant ire of Democrats throughout the Garden State.

Trump installed Habba, his former personal attorney and campaign spokesperson, as the state’s interim United States attorney back in March despite eyebrow-raising comments she made about how she’d try to flip New Jersey red — a shocking departure from the non-partisan stance expected of those who serve in the post.

But as an interim leader, she could only serve 120 days without being formally confirmed by the United States Senate or, alternatively, approved by New Jersey’s district court judges.

On Monday, the White House formally nominated Habba to a four-year term — and Democrats aren’t happy.

“Habba has explicitly stated her goal to politicize the office where I served as a prosecutor, and as acting United States Attorney, she has already weaponized it against her perceived political opponents,” wrote Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic candidate for governor, in a Wednesday statement.

“She has made a career of lying professionally for Donald Trump and is an unqualified nominee for United States Attorney,” Sherrill wrote.

Sherrill also took a jab at her opponent, Republican Jack Ciattarelli, by saying his “embrace of Alina Habba and his vow to nominate extreme, right-wing judges to our state Supreme Court would amount to a dangerous Make America Great Again takeover of New Jersey’s justice system” if he is elected governor.

The Ciattarelli campaign, for its part, backed Trump’s move to keep his old attorney in the position.

“With far-left New Jersey Democrats like Mikie Sherrill, Phil Murphy, and [Attorney General] Matt Platkin fighting to keep New Jersey a sanctuary state for criminal illegal immigrants, it’s critically important that we have a United States Attorney who will stand with law enforcement and crack down on crime in our communities,” the Ciattarelli campaign said in a statement.

“Alina Habba will,” the statement read. “She deserves an up or down vote and serious consideration from the full Senate.”

Despite Trump’s backing, political insiders from both parties think Habba will have a tough time getting confirmed in the Senate — especially given the longstanding tradition of senatorial courtesy, which demands home-state senators sign off on certain federal appointments.

And it’s unlikely she’ll get the green light from either of New Jersey’s Democratic senators, Cory Booker or Andy Kim.

“The people of New Jersey deserve a United States 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 senators wrote in a joint statement posted on social media Wednesday.

“In her short term as an interim United States Attorney, she has degraded the office and pursued frivolous and politically-motivated prosecutions,” the statement continued. “It’s clear that Alina Habba does not meet the standard for serving the people of New Jersey.”

At a Wednesday afternoon event with veterans in Wayne, Booker did not mention Habba by name or declare that he’d try to sink her nomination.

But he told The Jersey Vindicator that the White House should instead nominate someone who can bring law enforcement together, not divide it along political fault lines.

“We need a person in that position who’s a unifier, who brings people together and gets everybody around a table and says, ‘We have to fight crime, let’s do it together,’” Booker said. “We need someone who is going to focus on the work of law enforcement, not politics.”

The complaints aren’t limited to Democratic circles, Booker said.

“I’m hearing from Republicans all across our state, especially Republicans in law enforcement, who are telling me …please, fight for a leader in the United States Attorney’s Office who is not a partisan warrior, who is not a tribal fighter.”

Booker noted that the White House hadn’t reached out to him or Kim before announcing the nomination, a surprising departure from the norms of the staid Senate, which still takes senatorial courtesy very seriously.

But it’s not clear if the freewheeling Trump presidency — or Republicans’ fear of getting on their party leader’s bad side — will change that.

“It matters a lot,” Booker said. “There is still senatorial courtesy on district court judges and other key positions in our state. It demands that the White House and the senators work together to find people.”

“It is not acceptable that we don’t have dialogue, that we don’t have outreach, that we don’t have an affirmation of our shared values and the kind of leaders who can represent the best of who we are together.”

The United States Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

Habba has raised hackles since her appointment, which came after she told right-wing outlet Real America’s Voice that she wanted to swing New Jersey to the Republican Party.

“We could turn New Jersey red,” she said, citing 2024’s relatively narrow election results. “I really do believe that. There is momentum right now … and I think New Jersey is absolutely close to getting there. Hopefully, while I’m there, I can help that cause.”

Once in office, she launched an investigation into the governor and attorney general over their immigration policies; charged Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for trespassing at an immigration detention center; and hit United States Representative LaMonica McIver with charges of “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers” during a scrum outside Delaney Hall in Newark.

The congresswoman has denied the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.

The charges against Baraka have already been dropped, and United States Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa chided Habba for her legal fumble, according to the Associated Press.

“The hasty arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, followed swiftly by the dismissal of these trespassing charges a mere 13 days later, suggests a worrisome misstep by your Office,” Espinosa wrote.