US President Trump appoints Chaldean former personal lawyer Alina Habba as interim US Attorney for New Jersey

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a major shakeup, former President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Alina Habba, his one-time personal attorney and current counselor, will serve as interim US Attorney for the District of New Jersey. The appointment, effective immediately, marks another milestone in Habba’s evolving legal career.

“It is with great pleasure that I am announcing Alina Habba, Esq., who is currently serving as Counselor to the President, and has represented me for a long time, will be our interim US Attorney for the District of New Jersey, her Home State, effective immediately!” Trump shared on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Habba, 40, was born to a Chaldean family that emigrated from Iraq in the 1980s, fleeing wars and unrest. Currently residing in New Jersey, she is married and a mother of three. She has been a prominent figure in Trump’s legal team since 2022, when she began handling several of his civil lawsuits. Habba’s prominence soared during Trump’s high-profile civil fraud trial in New York, where she acted as his lead trial attorney. She also represented Trump during a second defamation case brought by former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, which resulted in a jury awarding Carroll $83.3 million in damages.

Alina Habba: “President Trump has just put out a statement that he has appointed me as the interim U.S. attorney for the state of New Jersey, my home state…There is corruption, there is injustice, and there is a heavy amount of crime right in Cory Booker’s backyard.” pic.twitter.com/2HXRrycr6V

— CSPAN (@cspan) March 24, 2025

Expressing gratitude for her new role, Habba took to X (formerly Twitter) to share her thoughts. “I am honored to serve as interim US attorney for New Jersey. Just like I did during my time as President Trump’s personal attorney, I will continue to fight for truth and justice. We will end the weaponization of justice, once and for all,” she wrote.

I am honored to serve my home state of New Jersey as Interim U.S. Attorney and I am grateful to President Trump for entrusting me with this tremendous responsibility. Just like I did during my time as President Trump’s personal attorney, I will continue to fight for truth and…

— Alina Habba (@AlinaHabba) March 24, 2025

As Habba steps into her new role, all eyes will be on her approach to federal cases in New Jersey and how her tenure reflects the broader political and legal strategies of Trump’s allies.