A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration’s plan to have three lawyers jointly lead the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey violates the Constitution.
In a decision issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann determined that the Justice Department acted unlawfully when it attempted to distribute the responsibilities of the state’s top federal prosecutor among three officials following the departure of former acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba.
After Habba stepped down in December, the Justice Department appointed Philip Lamparello, Jordan Fox, and Ari Fontecchio to share leadership of the office, dividing oversight of criminal, civil, and administrative matters among them. But in a detailed 130-page opinion, Judge Brann concluded that the arrangement effectively sidestepped the constitutional process required for appointing U.S. attorneys.
Under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, U.S. attorneys must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Brann wrote that allowing three officials to jointly exercise those powers amounted to an improper appointment that exceeded the attorney general’s authority.
“I conclude that the current leadership structure for the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey exceeds the Attorney General’s statutory authority to appoint inferior officers and delegate them powers,” Brann stated in the ruling. “It therefore constitutes a unilateral appointment in violation of the Appointments Clause.”
The decision is the latest development in an ongoing legal dispute over how the Trump administration has filled several top federal prosecutor roles across the country.
Habba, who previously served as one of former President Donald Trump’s personal defense attorneys, resigned from the acting U.S. attorney position in December after an appeals court determined that her appointment was not lawful.
Following her resignation, Attorney General Pam Bondi installed Lamparello, Fox, and Fontecchio to collectively manage the office’s operations. Judge Brann described the leadership arrangement as a “triumvirate” that effectively allowed the administration to bypass the Senate confirmation process required for such high-level posts.
Habba sharply criticized the ruling in a post on social media Monday.
“Another ridiculous ruling from Judge Brann disqualifying three individuals serving New Jersey’s DOJ front office of the U.S. Attorney,” she wrote on X. “Judges may continue to try and stop President Trump from carrying out what the American people voted for, but we will not be deterred. The unconstitutionality of this complete overreach into the Executive Branch, time and time again, will not succeed.”
