Shortly after President Donald Trump announced his appointment as interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, his former personal attorney, Alina Habba, wasted no time in setting a hardline tone. In one of her first statements in the new role, she made it clear that she meant business and dismissed what she termed liberal nonsense, directly criticizing Democratic Sen. Cory Booker for the condition of Democrat-led New Jersey.
Booker, a key figure in Democratic politics, has represented New Jersey in the U.S. Senate since 2013 and served as Newark’s mayor from 2006 to 2013. Newark has long battled crime rates well above the national average, a situation critics say stems from Democrat-led policies that have fallen short on public safety.
Gov. Phil Murphy, another Democrat who has led New Jersey since 2018, is frequently cited as an example of ineffective Democratic leadership. Conservatives criticize his progressive policies, arguing that they have worsened statewide challenges such as rising crime rates, economic inequality, and alleged systemic corruption. In her remarks at the White House following her appointment, Habba explicitly targeted Booker and Murphy, accusing them of overseeing rampant crime and corruption in New Jersey. She vowed to use her new position to tackle these issues head-on, declaring that their reign of dysfunction would end under her watch as she prioritized criminal justice reforms in the state.
In her formal introduction to her new role, Habba underscored her longstanding loyalty to President Trump and stressed her determination to confront the state’s crime and corruption issues head-on, taking aim at Booker and Murphy. Speaking directly to reporters at the White House, she said, “Good morning. I’m sure you’ve seen President Trump has just put out a statement that he has appointed me as the interim US Attorney for the state of New Jersey, my home state.
“As you know, I’ve stood by President Trump, his family, the organization, and many other clients in that state where I was born and raised. I’m raising my babies now, but there is corruption, there is injustice, and there is a heavy amount of crime right in Cory Booker’s backyard and right under Governor Murphy, and that will stop,” she said. Upon accepting her new role, Habba stressed her commitment to advancing Trump’s vision for justice and accountability, and expressed her intent to work closely with Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“I look forward to working with Pam Bondi with the Department of Justice and making sure that we further the President’s agenda of putting America first, cleaning up the mess, and going after the people that we should be going after, not the people that are falsely accused,” she said. “That will stop in the great state of New Jersey, starting now. Thank you so much. We’ll see when I get in there. We got to see what’s going on.”
