Alina Habba, the former personal lawyer of President Donald Trump, who had been serving as the US attorney for the state of New Jersey, stepped down from her post on Monday after a court ruling found her ineligible to hold the post.
In an X post, Alina Habba, a staunch Trump supporter, said she was resigning from the post to safeguard "the stability and integrity of the office which I love."
"But do not mistake compliance for surrender," she stated on X. "This decision will not weaken the Justice Department and it will not weaken me."
Here's a timeline of events that led to the resignation of Alina Habba:
1. Alina Habba, in 2021, joined Donald Trump's personal legal team after a meeting with him at a Bedminster, New Jersey golf club.
2. Soon after being hired, she filed a lawsuit against The New York Times and three of its reporters on Trump's behalf. She also filed a lawsuit against Mary L Trump, her boss's niece, who has been a vocal critic of his politics.
3. She also sued Summer Zervos, a woman who had accused Trump of sexual misconduct, where Habba claimed Zervos was trying to stifle Trump's freedom of speech.
4. Habba went on to represent Trump in a number of cases from 2022, including serving as the lead attorney for Trump in the E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump trial.
5. Trump named Habba as his counsellor to the president after winning the 2024 presidential elections.
6. Habba was appointed the US attorney for the District of New Jersey in March 2025.
7. In July 2025, the District Court for the District of New Jersey said it could not retain Habba in her position, and instead appointed her first assistant, Desiree Leigh Grace, to the post. However, Pam Bondi fired Gace only hours later.
8. Trump then went on to withdraw his nomination of Habba, in order for her to continue working in the acting capacity.
9. In August 2025, a judge in New Jersey ruled her appointment as invalid starting 1 July 2025. However, stayed his order pending appeal.
10. On 1 December, the New Jersey judge's ruling was upheld by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which disqualified Habba, saying that she was not lawfully appointed.
11. On 8 December, Habba announced her resignation from the post.
