Appeals court upholds disqualification of Alina Habba as US attorney for New Jersey

"Trump nominated Habba to the U.S. attorney post but she was not confirmed by the Senate. When district court judges declined to appoint her to the position, the administration installed her by formally withdrawing her nomination then placing her in a role that allowed her to serve in the position, in what a U.S. district judge called a "novel series of legal and personnel moves.""

"The appeals court ruled the maneuver was improper. "Habba is not the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey by virtue of her appointment as First Assistant U.S. Attorney because only the first assistant in place at the time the vacancy arises automatically assumes the functions and duties of the office under the FVRA," the court wrote, referring to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act."

A federal appeals court upheld a district court ruling that Alina Habba’s appointment as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Habba had been nominated by the President but was not confirmed by the Senate. After district judges declined to appoint her, the administration withdrew her nomination and placed her in a role enabling her to serve, a sequence a judge called novel. The appeals court found the actions improper, citing the FVRA’s provisions about first assistants, the nomination bar, and the exclusivity of delegation. New Jersey senators praised the decision as a vindication of legal concerns.

Read at ABC7 San Francisco