President Donald Trump’s fraught effort to install political appointees in permanent roles as US attorneys across the country gained momentum this week, as Republicans work to jumpstart a stalled confirmation process in the Senate,

By withdrawing her nomination to the permanent position, President Trump was able to reinstall Alina Habba as the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, where she can serve another 210 days. This maneuver allows Trump to bypass the choice of the federal judges in the district: a career prosecutor who was promptly fired by the Trump Justice Department when the judges elevated her.