A federal judge ruled on March 9, 2026, that Attorney General Bondi violated federal law when she replaced the disqualified Alina Habba with a three-person team to lead the New Jersey US Attorney's Office. This is the second time a judge has ruled the NJ US Attorney leadership is serving unlawfully.
Habba — Trump's former personal lawyer with no prosecutorial experience — was previously disqualified by a judge. An appeals court upheld that ruling, and Habba left in December 2025. Rather than nominating a proper replacement through Senate confirmation, Bondi split the role among Philip Lamparello, Jordan Fox, and Ari Fontecchio.
Judge Brann wrote in his opinion: “the Government tells us: the President doesn't like that he cannot simply appoint whomever he wants.” The quote captures the administration's fundamental conflict with the constitutional appointment process.
The pattern is clear: Trump tried to install his personal lawyer without Senate confirmation, was blocked, and rather than follow the Constitution, Bondi invented a workaround that was also ruled illegal. The Appointments Clause exists for a reason — it prevents exactly this kind of cronyism.