
Who is Alina Habba? Trump's nominee for New Jersey's permanent US attorney
New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated his former campaign spokesperson and personal lawyer Alina Habba for a full four year tenure as New Jersey's US attorney.
Habba was temporarily appointed to the post in March, who described the decision as 'a great pleasure' and praised her as someone who 'will fight tirelessly to secure a legal system that is both fair and just for the wonderful people of New Jersey.'
Habba drew national attention earlier this year when she brought charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, accusing him of trespassing at Delaney Hall, a privately operated federal immigration detention centre in Newark.
However, the charges were later dropped.
'After extensive consideration, we have agreed to dismiss Mayor Baraka's misdemeanour charge of trespass for the sake of moving forward,' Habba said in a statement.
However, in the same announcement on social media, she revealed that her office had filed charges against New Jersey Representative LaMonica McIver, alleging that she assaulted and impeded law enforcement officers at the same facility.
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As her 120-day interim term nears its conclusion, Habba will require Senate confirmation to continue as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey on a permanent basis.
Who is Alina Habba?
Alina Habba, 41, has been among Trump's most prominent legal allies in recent years, representing him in several high-profile civil and criminal matters. She became counsel to Trump's Save America PAC in 2023 and later joined his inner circle as 'counsellor to the president.'
Born in Summit, New Jersey, Habba graduated from the Kent Place School in 2002. She holds a bachelor's degree from Lehigh University and earned her law degree from Widener University Commonwealth Law School. Prior to her work with Trump, she specialised in civil litigation and corporate law in private practice.
She also clerked for Judge Eugene J Codey Jr. at the Civil Division of the Superior Court in Newark and was formerly the managing partner at Habba Madaio & Associates in Bedminster.
A mother of three, Habba described herself at the Republican National Convention in July as a 'devout Catholic, a proud first-generation Arab American woman and a feisty Jersey girl.'
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