In one of the more stupid episodes in an already stupid run of them, Pam Bondi gushed to social media that the Trump administration would stand up to “politically minded” judges and fire Desiree Leigh Grace, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Bondi made the move after the local district judges formally appointed Grace to the role of U.S. Attorney effective this weekend.
The only problem: Firing Grace has no impact on that decision. Oh, well, and the other problem is Bondi couldn’t fire Grace from the latter job if she wanted to. And the other, other problem is that none of this has anything to do with the judges anyway.
Confused? Bondi sure is. But that’s par for the course with this Justice Department that keeps trying to solve constitutional Rubik’s Cubes by eating them.
Maybe they’re just too busy trying to cover up the Epstein client list to read the applicable statutes.
This all started last week, when cable news talking head Alina Habba, currently cosplaying as the interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, informed her staff that she suspected her tenure would soon end. Having been temporarily named to the job, Habba’s appointment would come to an end this week and her nomination for the permanent gig had stalled in the Senate because even that Republican-controlled body balked at the idea of putting a parking garage lawyer in charge of that office.
When this happens, the law requires the district judges to pick the U.S. Attorney. Hoping to perform an end run around the Senate, the administration wanted the judges to appoint Habba. As Mark Joseph Stern notes in Slate, the administration has already relied on cooperative courts to assent to their picks on 11 occasions so far. The judges here… declined.
Girl, don’t blame Article III for Article I and Article II misbehaving. The judges are only in this position — exercising their statutory authority under 28 U.S.C. § 546(d) — because the administration dug deep and picked a nominee that could pass the lowest Senatorial bar imaginable. Under that law, the Attorney General can appoint an interim U.S. Attorney for 120 days, which Bondi did in choosing Habba. If the administration fails to secure a permanent appointment confirmed by the Senate by the end of that run, “the district court for such district may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled.”
But either way, firing Grace from her job as First Assistant does not have anything to do with her new job as U.S. Attorney. Bondi seems to labor under the illusion that the judges were “promoting” Grace as opposed to independently picking a lawyer who happened to currently be the assistant. In other words, Bondi thinks firing Grace disrupts the line of succession when there’s no line of succession in play.
It doesn’t matter if Grace was the assistant regional manager or the assistant to the regional manager — corporate hired her to be the manager manager.
That would be George W. Bush appointee Judge Bumb.
Note that the order doesn’t even mention Grace’s current (or former) job. Indeed, the judges were reportedly deliberating between placing Grace in the job or a former judge — which is to say nothing about this decision turned on the person being a current DOJ employee, much less the current First Assistant. Bondi basically gave Grace the rest of the week off to prepare for her new job.
Trump — and only Trump, not Bondi — could fire Grace from the U.S. Attorney job once she takes that, though he would still need to find a new person for the job before the judges find themselves having to pick again. Choosing Habba for another go around is not supposed to be an option, but if the administration wasn’t committed to dying on the Habba hill, they would’ve already given up.
At a certain point, doesn’t it hurt the case for an imperial executive branch when the executive constantly presents as the dumbest lawyers on Earth?
Obviously a rhetorical question.
Earlier: Alina Habba To Let The Screen Door Hit Her On Her Way Out Of U.S. Attorney Job (OR MAYBE NOT!)
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
The post Trump DOJ’s Keystone Kops Fire Alina Habba Replacement Without Realizing That Has Nothing To Do With It appeared first on Above the Law.
In one of the more stupid episodes in an already stupid run of them, Pam Bondi gushed to social media that the Trump administration would stand up to “politically minded” judges and fire Desiree Leigh Grace, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Bondi made the move after the local district judges formally appointed Grace to the role of U.S. Attorney effective this weekend.
The only problem: Firing Grace has no impact on that decision. Oh, well, and the other problem is Bondi couldn’t fire Grace from the latter job if she wanted to. And the other, other problem is that none of this has anything to do with the judges anyway.
Confused? Bondi sure is. But that’s par for the course with this Justice Department that keeps trying to solve constitutional Rubik’s Cubes by eating them.
Maybe they’re just too busy trying to cover up the Epstein client list to read the applicable statutes.
This all started last week, when cable news talking head Alina Habba, currently cosplaying as the interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, informed her staff that she suspected her tenure would soon end. Having been temporarily named to the job, Habba’s appointment would come to an end this week and her nomination for the permanent gig had stalled in the Senate because even that Republican-controlled body balked at the idea of putting a parking garage lawyer in charge of that office.
When this happens, the law requires the district judges to pick the U.S. Attorney. Hoping to perform an end run around the Senate, the administration wanted the judges to appoint Habba. As Mark Joseph Stern notes in Slate, the administration has already relied on cooperative courts to assent to their picks on 11 occasions so far. The judges here… declined.
Girl, don’t blame Article III for Article I and Article II misbehaving. The judges are only in this position — exercising their statutory authority under 28 U.S.C. § 546(d) — because the administration dug deep and picked a nominee that could pass the lowest Senatorial bar imaginable. Under that law, the Attorney General can appoint an interim U.S. Attorney for 120 days, which Bondi did in choosing Habba. If the administration fails to secure a permanent appointment confirmed by the Senate by the end of that run, “the district court for such district may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled.”
But either way, firing Grace from her job as First Assistant does not have anything to do with her new job as U.S. Attorney. Bondi seems to labor under the illusion that the judges were “promoting” Grace as opposed to independently picking a lawyer who happened to currently be the assistant. In other words, Bondi thinks firing Grace disrupts the line of succession when there’s no line of succession in play.
It doesn’t matter if Grace was the assistant regional manager or the assistant to the regional manager — corporate hired her to be the manager manager.
That would be George W. Bush appointee Judge Bumb.
Note that the order doesn’t even mention Grace’s current (or former) job. Indeed, the judges were reportedly deliberating between placing Grace in the job or a former judge — which is to say nothing about this decision turned on the person being a current DOJ employee, much less the current First Assistant. Bondi basically gave Grace the rest of the week off to prepare for her new job.
Trump — and only Trump, not Bondi — could fire Grace from the U.S. Attorney job once she takes that, though he would still need to find a new person for the job before the judges find themselves having to pick again. Choosing Habba for another go around is not supposed to be an option, but if the administration wasn’t committed to dying on the Habba hill, they would’ve already given up.
At a certain point, doesn’t it hurt the case for an imperial executive branch when the executive constantly presents as the dumbest lawyers on Earth?
Obviously a rhetorical question.
Earlier: Alina Habba To Let The Screen Door Hit Her On Her Way Out Of U.S. Attorney Job (OR MAYBE NOT!)
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
