Who Is Desiree Leigh Grace? DOJ Fires Alina Habba’s Replacement

The Department of Justice has said that Desiree Leigh Grace was removed as the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey hours after she was chosen over Alina Habba.

Federal judges in the state announced on Tuesday that they had opted not to appoint Habba, who was President Donald Trump’s pick and had served as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey since March. Instead, they chose to appoint Grace, who had been serving as first assistant in the office under Habba.

Responding to the judges’ decision, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X on Tuesday: “Alina Habba has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again. Nonetheless, politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position, replacing Alina with the First Assistant.

“Accordingly, the First Assistant United States Attorney in New Jersey has just been removed. This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges—especially when they threaten the President’s core Article II powers.”

Newsweek contacted the DOJ, Habba, Grace and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for comment by email outside regular working hours.

Why It Matters

There have been sharp institutional divides between the judiciary and the Trump administration, which as repeatedly accused judges across the U.S. of bias in recent months.

While Grace, a career prosecutor, was selected by judges under a rarely used authority, federal officials have disputed the legitimacy of her appointment. The incident raises questions about the separation of powers, executive authority over justice and the independence of federal prosecutions.

What To Know

Grace joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey in 2016, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has held numerous roles in the office, including acting chief of the Violent Crimes Unit between August 2020 and January 2021; chief of the Criminal Division between March 2024 and April 2025; and first assistant to the U.S. attorney.

Prior to joining the office, her LinkedIn profile said, she was a judicial clerk in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, an associate at the law firm McCarter & English LLP and a judicial clerk at New Jersey’s Supreme Court.

It is not clear whether Bondi’s statement means Grace has been removed from the office entirely.

Habba, previously a personal attorney and campaign spokesperson for Trump, has faced criticism over her March appointment as interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey and her actions in the role. Earlier this month, Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim, Democrats from New Jersey, said in a statement that she had “degraded the office and pursued frivolous and politically motivated prosecutions.”

After Habba’s 120-day interim term ended with no confirmation from the Senate, a panel of New Jersey’s district court judges exercised their statutory authority to appoint Grace to the role on Tuesday.

What People Are Saying

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X on Tuesday: “The district judges in NJ just proved this was never about law—it was about politics. They forced out President Trump’s pick, Alina Habba, then installed her deputy, colluding with the NJ Senators along the way. It won’t work. Pursuant to the President’s authority, we have removed that deputy, effective immediately. This backroom vote will not override the authority of the Chief Executive.”

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement: “President Trump has full confidence in Alina Habba, whose work as acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey has made the Garden State and the nation safer. The Trump Administration looks forward to her final confirmation in the U.S. Senate and will work tirelessly to ensure the people of New Jersey are well represented.”

Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker, Democrats from New Jersey, said in a statement in response to Grace’s firing: “Trump’s Department of Justice is once again criticizing a court that acted within its authority, continuing a pattern of publicly undermining judicial decisions and showing disregard for the rule of law and the separation of powers. The firing of a career public servant, lawfully appointed by the court, is another blatant attempt to intimidate anyone that doesn’t agree with them and undermine judicial independence. This administration may not like the law, but they are not above it.

“The people of New Jersey deserve a U.S. Attorney who will enforce the law and pursue justice for the people of our state without partisanship or politics.”

What Happens Next

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey remains without a clearly recognized leader. The legal status of Grace’s judicial appointment and Bondi’s firing remain uncertain.