An Obama-appointed judge has taken issue with the way President Donald Trump appointed his former personal lawyer, Alina Habba, to be U.S. Attorney in New Jersey.

Middle District of Pennsylvania Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann ruled that Habba was "unlawfully" appointed and could not prosecute two defendants who challenged her appointment.

“After reviewing several issues of first impression, the Court concludes that Ms. Habba has exercised the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey without lawful authority since July 1, 2025,” Brann wrote.

Habba’s actions since that point “may be declared void,” the judge continued.

"I will serve"

The 77-page briefing also said, "Faced with the question of whether Ms. Habba is lawfully performing the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, I conclude that she is not."

For the moment though, Habba will stay right where she is while the ruling is appealed, since Brann stayed his ruling pending appeal.

Habba pushed back against the ruling, saying, "I am the pick of the president. I am the pick of Pam Bondi, our attorney general, and I will serve this country like I have for the last several years in any capacity."

Habba was first appointed as interim U.S. Attorney, a 120-day appointment which expired in July after the Senate didn't take action on her nomination to become permanent in the position.

Is he allowed to do that?

At that point, a panel of judges appointed her deputy, Desiree Leigh Grace, to fill the position permanently. This followed the established protocol for when an interim term expires.

But Trump wanted Habba in the position permanently, so he removed Grace and appointed Habba for the permanent position, making her the acting U.S. Attorney immediately upon doing so.

His action was unusual and had not really been done before. Whether or not it was illegal is up for debate, and Brann obviously thinks it was.

Trump has done a lot of things that are outside the usual operating procedures for a president, both in his first term and now.

But that's part of his appeal, the ability to cut through the red tape and even, at times, tradition to get stuff done--even stuff that hasn't been getting done for a long time.

Democrats in the Senate have been slow-walking Trump's nominees since he took office, and he's using every loophole he can to get them confirmed so they can do the work of his administration.