Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in a post on X on Tuesday that the newly appointed US attorney for the District of New Jersey, Desiree Leigh Grace, has been fired by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Grace, who was only appointed mere hours before her work termination, was selected by federal judges on Tuesday to replace former US attorney Alina Habba. For the last 120 days, Habba had been the acting US attorney for the District of New Jersey, and was waiting on Senate confirmation to assume the role in a more permanent fashion. Habba was appointed by President Donald Trump in March.

At the expiration of the 120 days, an order, written by George W. Bush-appointee Judge Renée Marie Bumb, signified the end of Habba’s temporary position and appointed First Assistant US Attorney for New Jersey Grace as interim US Attorney.

Just hours later, Attorney General Pam Pondi took to X, posting:

[US Attorney Alina Habba] has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again. Nonetheless, politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position, replacing Alina with the First Assistant. Accordingly, the First Assistant United States Attorney in New Jersey has just been removed. This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges — especially when they threaten the President’s core Article II powers.

 The US Code states in a section related to vacancies that the Attorney General does not have the power to remove a US Attorney who was appointed by the district court; only the president has the authority to do so.

Democrats across the country have taken to social media to express their outrage over this action by the DOJ. Specifically, New Jersey democrats Cory Booker and Andy Kim stated:

Trump’s Department of Justice is once again criticizing a court that acted within its authority, continuing a pattern of publicly undermining judicial decisions and showing disregard for the rule of law and the separation of powers.