In a significant decision on Monday, a federal appeals court disqualified Alina Habba, previously Donald Trump’s personal attorney, from serving as the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed a lower court’s verdict, stating Habba’s appointment breached the Federal Vacancies Reform Act.

Though Trump had nominated Habba for the U.S. attorney position, her appointment was never approved by the Senate. In a controversial move, the administration attempted to bypass this by retracting her nomination and installing her through a position that allowed her to execute the role’s duties. This maneuver was criticized by a U.S. district judge as an “unprecedented series of legal and personnel maneuvers.”

The appeals court concluded this approach was not permissible.

The ruling stated, “Habba cannot serve as the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey based on her role as First Assistant U.S. Attorney. This is because, according to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, only the first assistant present when the vacancy occurs can automatically take on the office’s duties.”

“Additionally, because Habba was nominated for the vacant U.S. Attorney position, the FVRA’s nomination bar prevents her from assuming the role of Acting U.S. Attorney. Finally, the Attorney General’s delegation of all the powers of a U.S. Attorney to Habba is prohibited by the FVRA’s exclusivity provision,” the opinion said.

New Jersey’s two senators, both Democrats, lauded the decision, saying it “vindicates concerns we have long raised about the extraordinary and unlawful steps taken by the Trump Administration to keep Habba in office without Senate confirmation.” 

“The Court’s ruling underscores a simple but fundamental principle: U.S. Attorneys must be independent and installed consistent with the rule of law, not because of their political loyalty or through political maneuvering,” said the joint statement from Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker. “The Trump Administration’s attempt to bypass clear legal requirements to install a loyalist undermined the legitimacy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey and cast a shadow over the cases she oversaw.”

Monday’s ruling marks the first time a federal appeals court has ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to keep interim U.S. attorneys in their posts after their temporary appointments lapse, potentially resulting in nationwide implications for federal prosecutors installed in the same way as Habba. 

“The court’s decision affirms that U.S. Attorney Alina Habba is unlawfully and invalidly serving as the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey, marking the first time an appeals court has ruled that President Trump cannot usurp longstanding statutory and constitutional processes to insert whomever he wants in these positions,” attorneys Abbe Lowell, Gerry Krovatin and Norm Eisen, who argued for Habba’s dismissal, said in a joint statement.  “We will continue to challenge President Trump’s unlawful appointments of purported U.S. Attorneys wherever appropriate.”

After Habba’s interim appointment expired and the district court sought to put in a new top prosecutor, the Trump administration placed her in a lower position — First Assistant U.S. Attorney — that allowed her to assume the top job once her original nomination was withdrawn. 

In a 3-0 decision, the appeals court concluded that Habba’s original nomination for the U.S. attorney position barred her from assuming the acting job. The court also rejected the argument that the attorney general has the power to delegate the powers of U.S. attorney to Habba. 

The ruling from the three-judge panel — composed of two judges put on the bench by George W. Bush and one by Joe Biden — comes on the heels of a high-profile decision last week disqualifying Trump’s handpicked prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, who had brought criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.