Alina Habba
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Alina Habba, born March 25, 1984, an American lawyer and political advisor, was appointed acting United States attorney for the District of New Jersey in July 2025, after serving in an interim capacity since March of that year. Her continued tenure, however, remains disputed and is currently working its way through the appeals courts. A member of the Republican Party, she previously held the role of counselor to the president from January to March 2025.
From 2021 to 2025, Habba served as a legal spokesperson for President Donald Trump and as a senior advisor for MAGA, Inc., Trump's super PAC. Her legal career has seen her sanctioned by courts for filing frivolous lawsuits on behalf of Trump. She also holds the position of managing partner at Habba, Madaio & Associates, a law firm with offices in Bedminster, New Jersey, and New York City.
Born in Summit, New Jersey, Habba is one of three siblings. Her parents, Chaldean Catholics who emigrated from Iraq in the early 1980s to escape persecution, instilled in her a strong sense of heritage. Her father, Saad F. Habba, is a gastroenterologist. Habba graduated from Kent Place School in 2002 and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in political science from Lehigh University in 2005.
Between 2005 and 2007, Habba gained valuable experience in the fashion industry, working in accessories production and marketing with executives at Marc Jacobs. While she enjoyed the creative aspects of fashion, financial considerations led her to pursue a legal career. She obtained her Juris Doctor from Widener University Commonwealth Law School in 2010.
After law school, Habba served as a law clerk to Eugene J. Codey Jr., then-presiding judge of the Civil Superior Court in Essex County, New Jersey, from 2010 to 2011. She then entered private practice, joining Tompkins, McGuire, Wachenfeld & Barry, LLP, as an associate in September 2011. From February 2013 to March 2020, she was an equity partner and managing partner of Sandelands Eyet LLP. In March 2020, Habba established her own firm, Habba, Madaio and Associates LLP, which now employs five people and operates with offices in Bedminster, New Jersey, and Manhattan.
Habba is licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. She has taken the lead in several significant cases, including a federal class action suit against a New Jersey nursing home for alleged negligence and consumer fraud. She has also acted as general counsel for her second husband's parking garage company and represented clients in diverse legal matters, such as a man suing a nursing home and a student seeking a tuition refund after their university moved to an online format.
In July 2021, Habba represented Siggy Flicker, a former cast member of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, who claimed Facebook had disabled her account for wishing Melania Trump a happy birthday. Habba's subsequent letter to Facebook went unanswered. Also in July 2021, she represented Caesar DePaço, a vitamin supplement entrepreneur, in a federal court case against Portuguese journalists who had revealed his close ties to the far-right Chega party in Portugal.
Habba's involvement with Donald Trump began in 2019 when she joined the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, a short drive from her law firm. Their acquaintance grew, leading to her joining his legal team in September 2021, replacing several established attorneys. Shortly after her hiring, Habba filed a $100 million lawsuit on Trump's behalf against The New York Times, three Times reporters, and Trump's niece, Mary L. Trump. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed by the judge for constitutional deficiencies. Habba also represented Trump in a defamation case brought by Summer Zervos, who had accused him of sexual misconduct. In October 2021, Habba filed a countersuit for Trump, alleging Zervos was attempting to stifle his free speech rights. Zervos later discontinued her lawsuit.
Since 2022, Habba has been involved in numerous legal cases concerning Trump. She represented him in an investigation into the alleged misrepresentation of his assets on various Statements of Net Worth. She unsuccessfully appealed a court order requiring Trump and his children to provide sworn testimony regarding these valuations. During Letitia James, New York's attorney general,'s deposition of Trump on August 10, 2022, Habba was present and led the defense, though Trump invoked the Fifth Amendment over 450 times.
In February 2022, Habba attempted to prevent Trump from being compelled to give a sworn statement in an investigation led by James. On July 19, 2022, Habba herself was sued by a former employee, Na'Syia Drayton, who alleged racist comments and inappropriate music played in the office. This lawsuit was settled out of court in September 2022.
In September 2022, U.S. district court judge Donald M. Middlebrooks dismissed a lawsuit filed by Habba for Trump against Hillary Clinton, John Podesta, and numerous other public officials and private entities, related to the 2016 presidential election. Middlebrooks deemed the complaint inadequate in all respects and reserved the right to consider sanctions against Trump's attorneys. Two months later, Middlebrooks sanctioned Trump's lawyers, including Habba, assessing $50,000 penalties and $16,000 in legal fees. In January 2023, Middlebrooks ordered Trump, Habba, and her firm to pay $938,000 in legal costs for 31 defendants. The judge criticized the lawsuit as politically motivated and lacking any cognizable legal claim. A federal appeals court later upheld the $938,000 penalty, finding Habba had engaged in sanctionable conduct by filing a frivolous lawsuit.
Habba also represented Trump in a federal civil lawsuit filed by his former attorney, Michael Cohen. She filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, which was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in January 2024.
In the Carroll v. Trump case, Habba defended Trump's private interests, arguing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that the Federal Tort Claims Act applied to a former U.S. president. The Second Circuit agreed that Trump was an employee of the United States at the time, but later upheld a federal judge's ruling rejecting Trump's claim of presidential immunity.
In 2022, Trump's Save America political action committee paid Habba's firm nearly $2 million in legal fees. In January 2024, Habba predicted that Associate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh would support Trump's case in Trump v. Anderson, a case that would determine Trump's ballot access eligibility. She clarified that her prediction was based on justices upholding the law, not political affiliation. Habba served as lead attorney for Trump in the E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump trial, which began on January 16, 2024. During the trial, presiding federal judge Lewis Kaplan repeatedly reprimanded Habba for her cross-examination methods. A jury ultimately awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages against Trump.
Habba spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention, introducing Trump. In August 2024, she publicly criticized Adam Kinzinger for speaking out against Trump. In January 2025, Habba faced criticism for appearing on a show and expressing admiration for Andrew Tate, who faces serious charges. Critics called for Trump to dismiss her.
In December 2024, Trump named Habba as his counselor to the president.
On March 24, 2025, Trump announced Habba's appointment as interim United States attorney for the District of New Jersey. She announced investigations into Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matt Platkin, stating her desire to "turn New Jersey red." Following an incident at an immigration detention facility, Habba dropped charges against Newark's mayor, Ras Baraka, and charged a member of Congress with assault. The judge who dismissed the charges against Baraka rebuked Habba's office for using the office to advance political agendas. Baraka subsequently filed a lawsuit against Habba and a Homeland Security Investigations agent, alleging false arrest and malicious prosecution.
On July 22, 2025, a panel of judges on the District Court for the District of New Jersey declined to retain Habba, appointing her first assistant, Desiree Leigh Grace, instead. Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Grace shortly after. Grace expressed her intent to assume the position she was appointed to. On July 24, 2025, President Trump withdrew Habba's nomination, clearing the way for her to serve in an acting capacity. Days later, court activity involving the U.S. attorney's office halted amid challenges to Habba's continued tenure, as federal statute has specific provisions regarding acting officers when nominations are submitted to the Senate.
On August 21, 2025, Chief United States district judge Matthew W. Brann ruled that Habba's appointment was void as of July 1, 2025, and her later reappointment was invalid, though his order was stayed pending appeal. He also stated that Grace became the U.S. attorney upon her appointment by the district judges. On December 1, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld Brann's ruling, disqualifying Habba from her position as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey.
Habba describes herself as "very religious," identifying as Catholic and Arab. She was married to Matthew Eyet from 2011 to 2019. In 2020, she married Gregg Reuben, who is Jewish, and they reside in Bernardsville, New Jersey. Reuben is the CEO of Centerpark, a New York City-based parking management company. Habba has two children from her first marriage and a step-child from her current marriage.
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Alina Saad Habba (born March 25, 1984) is an American lawyer and political advisor who was appointed acting United States attorney for the District of New Jersey in July 2025, having previously served in an interim capacity from March 2025; her continued tenure since July 2025 is disputed, and her case is working its way through the appeals courts. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as a counselor to the president from January to March 2025.
From 2021 to 2025, Habba served as a legal spokesperson for President Donald Trump, and as a senior advisor for MAGA, Inc., Trump's super PAC. She has been sanctioned by courts for filing frivolous lawsuits on behalf of Trump. She is also a managing partner of Habba, Madaio & Associates, a law firm based in Bedminster, New Jersey, with an office in New York City.
== Early life and education ==
Habba and her two siblings were born in Summit, New Jersey. Their parents were Chaldean Catholics who emigrated from Iraq to the United States in the early 1980s to escape persecution in their home country. Her father, Saad F. Habba, is a gastroenterologist. Habba graduated from Kent Place School in 2002. She attended Lehigh University, graduating in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in political science.
Between 2005 and 2007, Habba worked in the fashion industry in accessories production and marketing with executives at Marc Jacobs. According to her, though she enjoyed the fashion industry, she decided to attend law school for financial reasons. She obtained a Juris Doctor from the Widener University Commonwealth Law School in 2010.
== Legal career ==
After finishing law school, Habba was a law clerk to Eugene J. Codey Jr., then-presiding judge of the Civil Superior Court in Essex County, New Jersey, from 2010 to 2011. Habba began private practice in September 2011, when she joined as an associate at Tompkins, McGuire, Wachenfeld & Barry, LLP, where she worked from September 2011 to February 2013. From February 2013 to March 2020, she was an equity partner and the managing partner of Sandelands Eyet LLP, a seven-attorney firm formed by her then-husband in 2013. In March 2020, Habba left to start her own firm. The firm, Habba, Madaio and Associates LLP, employs five people. Along with the firm's Bedminster, New Jersey office, Habba has an office in Manhattan.
Habba is licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. She has served as lead counsel for three cases, including a federal class action suit against a New Jersey nursing home accused of various negligent acts and consumer fraud violations. Habba has also held the position of general counsel for her second husband's parking garage company. She has represented clients in various legal cases including a man suing a nursing home in New Jersey, and a student seeking a refund for college tuition after University of Bridgeport moved classes to an online format.
In July 2021, Habba represented Siggy Flicker, a former member of The Real Housewives of New Jersey who alleged that Facebook had disabled her account for wishing Melania Trump a happy birthday. Habba wrote a letter to Facebook, which Facebook appeared to ignore. Also in July 2021, Habba represented Caesar DePaço, a vitamin supplement entrepreneur, in a federal court case where she filed a lawsuit against Portuguese journalists for revealing his close connections to the far-right Chega party in Portugal.
=== Work as Trump's attorney ===
==== 2021 ====
In 2019, Habba joined the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, which is an eight-minute drive from her law firm, that she formed in 2020. There, she and Donald Trump became acquainted.
In a lawsuit filed in December 2023 aimed at referring Habba to the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics, a Trump National Golf Club Bedminster employee alleged that in the second half of 2021, Habba induced the employee into entering an illegal non-disclosure agreement when the employee intended to accuse a club manager of workplace sexual misconduct (New Jersey banned non-disclosure agreements for workplace harassment). The employee alleged that Habba tried to befriend her, encouraged the firing of the employee's lawyer, provided the non-disclosure agreement with penalties for disclosure, and warned the employee not to publicize the workplace sexual misconduct accusation; Habba responded in 2023: "I always conduct myself ethically and acted no differently in this circumstance." The club settled the lawsuit in March 2024, with the settlement agreement including a line stating that both "parties agree that Alina Habba is not a party to this release". Habba settled the lawsuit in August 2024.
Habba had never done legal work for Trump when, in September 2021, he hired her as part of his legal team, replacing several well-established lawyers who had worked for Trump for many years but had withdrawn their services, including: Marc Kasowitz, Charles Harder, Joanna Hendon, Marc Saroff Mukasey, Jay Sekulow, and Lawrence S. Rosen. Quickly after her hiring, Habba filed a $100 million lawsuit on Trump's behalf against The New York Times, three Times reporters, and Trump's niece, Mary L. Trump. Her lawsuit was dismissed by the judge for "fail[ing] as a matter of constitutional law". Habba also worked on Trump's behalf when he was sued for defamation by Summer Zervos. Trump had called Zervos a "liar" in 2017, after she accused him of kissing and groping her, without her consent, when she was a contestant on Trump's reality TV show, The Apprentice. In October 2021, Habba filed a Trump countersuit against Zervos, claiming she was trying to stifle Trump's right to free speech. Shortly thereafter, in November 2021, Zervos discontinued the lawsuit.
==== Since 2022 ====
Habba represented Trump in a legal case where he was being investigated for falsely representing the value of his assets on various Statements of Net Worth that banks required him to file annually to ensure that Trump had sufficient funds to repay their loans. She unsuccessfully appealed a court order requiring Trump and his children Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric to give sworn testimony about the valuations they signed for when filing those returns. New York's attorney general, Letitia James, personally questioned Trump on August 10, 2022. Habba was present during the deposition and led the defense. Trump refused to answer any questions during the four-hour deposition, pleading the United States Constitution's Fifth Amendment over 450 times.
In February 2022, Habba unsuccessfully attempted to prevent Trump from being required to give a sworn statement in an investigation led by James. On July 19, 2022, Habba was sued by a former employee, Na'Syia Drayton, who claimed Habba repeatedly sang inappropriate gangster rap and hip hop music in the office while using the N word, made racist comments, and referred to James as "that Black bitch". The lawsuit was settled out of court in September 2022. Habba had called James a "sick person" in January of the same year.
In September 2022, U.S. district court judge Donald M. Middlebrooks dismissed a 2022 suit brought by Habba for Trump against Hillary Clinton, John Podesta, Jake Sullivan, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and numerous other public officials, private citizens, and private entities against whom Trump sought damages for alleged conduct surrounding the 2016 presidential election. Dismissing all of Trump's claims, Middlebrooks concluded that Trump's complaint was not just inadequate in any respect, but in all respects, and expressly reserved the right to consider sanctions against Trump's attorneys at a later date.
Two months after issuing that decision, Middlebrooks sanctioned Trump's lawyers, including Habba, Michael T. Madaio, Peter Ticktin, and Jamie Alan Sasson. They were assessed $50,000 penalties, plus $16,000 to cover the legal fees paid by one of the defendants. Later in January 2023, Middlebrooks ordered Trump, Habba, and her firm to pay $938,000 in legal costs for 31 defendants, including the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton, and former FBI director James Comey. The judge wrote about the lawsuit brought by Habba: "No reasonable lawyer would have filed it. Intended for a political purpose, none of the counts of the amended complaint stated a cognizable legal claim." In February 2023, the Order was pending appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Speaking at a December 2023 Turning Point USA conference, Habba asserted no one had heard of the case, falsely alleging the "fake news" had not reported it. She added that "me and President Trump got sanctioned a million dollars for going against Crooked Hillary" and "there were probably 50 lawyers representing all of the radical left", although the suit had named 31 defendants. A federal appeals upheld the $938,000 penalty against Habba and Trump, concluding that Habba had engaged in sanctionable conduct by filing a frivolous lawsuit.
Habba represented Trump in a federal civil lawsuit filed by his former attorney, Michael Cohen. Cohen had been released from prison into home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic. He was re-imprisoned after promoting his book Disloyal: A Memoir and released again 16 days later after obtaining an injunction. Cohen later sued Trump and former Justice Department employees for damages. Habba filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, and the lower court ruled against Cohen. In January 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the lower court's decision.
Habba defended Trump's private interests in the Carroll v. Trump case, when she argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that the Federal Tort Claims Act applies to a former U.S. president. The Second Circuit, in a decision dated September 27, 2022, agreed that Trump was an employee of the United States at the time and that the District Court must consider the applicability of the Federal Tort Claims Act to Trump's comments in that light. The Second Circuit decision did not address the merits of Trump's claim that the comments constituted executive action as the President of the United States. In December 2023, the appeals court upheld the federal judge's ruling rejecting Trump's claim of presidential immunity.
In 2022, Trump's Save America political action committee paid Habba's firm almost $2 million in legal fees. In January 2024, Habba predicted that Associate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, "who the president fought for, who the president went through hell to get into place", would "step up" to support Trump's case in Trump v. Anderson, which would decide whether Trump is disqualified from ballot access per the Fourteenth Amendment. Habba disclaimed meaning that justices like Kavanaugh would rule for Trump on account of being "pro-Trump", claiming instead that they would "because they're pro-law, because they're pro-fairness". Habba served as lead attorney for the E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump trial that began on January 16, 2024. Over the course of three days, presiding federal judge Lewis Kaplan repeatedly reprimanded Habba for her methods of cross-examining Carroll and introducing evidence. A jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages against Trump on January 26, 2024.
She spoke on the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention leading up to the introduction of Trump.
In August 2024, she criticized Adam Kinzinger for speaking out against Trump during the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and told him to "sit the hell down".
In January 2025, Habba came under fire for appearing on a show as a guest and telling Andrew Tate, who is accused of rape, human trafficking, and other charges, that she is a "big fan". Critics have called on Trump to fire her.
=== Counselor to the President ===
In December 2024, Trump named Habba as his counselor to the president.
=== Acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey ===
On March 24, 2025, Trump announced that Habba would become interim United States attorney for the District of New Jersey effective immediately following his nomination of the then interim U.S. Attorney, John Giordano, as U.S. ambassador to Namibia. Giordano continued to sign documents as U.S. attorney through March 27, and that day Bondi signed Habba's appointment, effective March 28, the day she was sworn in.
Habba announced investigations into Phil Murphy, New Jersey's Democratic governor, and Matt Platkin, the state's attorney general. In an interview, she also said she wanted to "turn New Jersey red". After an incident at the Newark, New Jersey immigration detention facility on May 9, involving three Democratic members of New Jersey's congressional delegation and the arrest of Newark's Democratic mayor, Ras Baraka, Habba dropped the charges against Baraka and charged LaMonica McIver, one of the members of Congress, with assault. The judge who formally dismissed the charges against Baraka rebuked Habba's office for the arrest, warning against use of the office "to advance political agendas". Several Democratic politicians in New Jersey have described Habba's actions as politicizing the U.S. Attorney's office. Baraka subsequently filed a lawsuit against Habba and a Homeland Security Investigations agent involved in his arrest, alleging false arrest, malicious prosecution, and defamation.
On July 22, 2025, a panel of judges on the District Court for the District of New Jersey declined to retain Habba until a nominee is named, appointing Desiree Leigh Grace, Habba's first assistant, instead. Attorney General Pam Bondi fired Desiree Leigh Grace a few hours later. On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, Grace posted on her LinkedIn profile that she intended to assume the position the judges selected her for "in accordance with the law". On July 24, 2025, President Trump withdrew the nomination of Alina Habba, which cleared the way for her to serve in New Jersey as the U.S. attorney in an acting capacity. Days later, court activity in New Jersey involving the U.S. attorney abruptly stopped amid motions that contested Habba's continued tenure; federal statute states that a person "may not serve as an acting officer" if their nomination is submitted to the Senate, but does not clarify if that is applicable upon the withdrawal of a nomination.
==== Validity of appointment ====
On August 21, 2025, Matthew W. Brann, the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, sitting by designation in the District of New Jersey, ruled that Habba's appointment was void as of July 1, 2025, and her later purported reappointment was invalid, but stayed his order pending appeal. The judge also said that Grace thus became the U.S. attorney upon appointment by the district judges on July 22, 2025, but expressed no opinion as to whether the president's purported firing of her on July 26 was valid as that was not before him.
On December 1, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld Brann's ruling that Habba was not lawfully appointed and disqualified her from her position as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey.
== Personal life ==
Habba has described herself as "very religious". She has identified as a Catholic and Arab.
Habba was married to Matthew Eyet from 2011 to 2019. She married Gregg Reuben, who is Jewish, in 2020; they live in Bernardsville, New Jersey. Reuben is the CEO of Centerpark, a New York City-based parking management company. Habba has two children from her first marriage, as well as a step-child from Reuben's previous marriage.
== See also ==
Federal prosecution of Donald Trump
Legal teams involved in the Mueller special counsel investigation
New York investigations of the Trump Organization
== Notes ==
== References ==
== Notes ==
== External links ==
Alina Habba on X
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