BREAKING: Alina Habba’s appointment ‘bypasses the constitutional process entirely’ as US Atty for NJ: federal appeals court

A panel of three judges on the 3rd US Circuit of Appeals upheld a lower court's decision which said that the Trump administration unlawfully appointed Habba to the position.

"Under the Government’s delegation theory, Habba may avoid the gauntlet of presidential appointment and Senate confirmation and serve as the de facto U.S. Attorney indefinitely,” the panel wrote in the ruling. “This view is so broad that it bypasses the constitutional (appointment and Senate confirmation) process entirely.”

The panel added, “It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place."

Habba, who was President Donald Trump's personal lawyers before getting appointed to the position, was chosen on an interim basis in March, a role that usually lasts 120 days. She was then nominated by Trump to take the post permanently, however the Senate did not act on her nomination, which was later withdrawn on July 24. When that was withdrawn, Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Habba as a special attorney to pursue "any kind of legal proceedings … which United States Attorneys are authorized to conduct."

However, a federal judge ruled in August that Habba did not have authority in the position. There are also some challenges being filed against the authority of some US attorneys appointed by the administration in California as well as Nevada.

The Trump administration may be able to appeal the Habba ruling to the Supreme Court.