Trump names Alina Habba as interim top federal prosecutor for New Jersey

President Trump named former defense attorney and White House counselor Alina Habba to be New Jersey’s interim U.S. attorney.

Ms. Habba, 40, a New Jersey native, will succeed John Giordano, who was recently nominated to be ambassador to Namibia.

“I’ve stood by President Trump, his family, the organization, and many other clients in that state where I’ve been born and raised, and I’m raising my babies now. But there is corruption,” Ms. Habba told reporters at the White House Monday.

Ms. Habba would not say if she was being established in her position to later seek higher officer in the state, but was critical of Democratic officials, Sen. Cory Booker and Gov. Phil Murphy, who she said she thinks have “failed” New Jersey.

“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.”

Ms. Habba said she looks forward to working with Attorney General Pam Bondi to further Mr. Trump’s agenda “of putting America first and cleaning a mess and going after the people that we should be going after, not the people that are falsely accused.”

“If you look at what happened with crime, what’s going on in Newark, what’s going on in Camden, this has been a neglected state,” she said. “It is one of the most populated states for its size, and [the corruption] needs to stop. We’re going to do a bang-up job. I cannot wait. It’s a great honor.”

Ms. Habba previously was a litigator who represented Mr. Trump in some of his most well-known cases, including his New York City hush-money trial last year, when he was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

She also acted as a senior adviser for Mr. Trump’s political action committee and served as his spokeswoman when he found himself between the campaign trail and the courtroom.