Who is New Jersey's US attorney?
New Jersey's federal district court judges on Tuesday told interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba to 'fuggedaboudit.' But the Trump administration signaled it may be up for a fight.
The federal judges exercised a rarely used law that allows them to pick the state's top federal law enforcement officer, naming prosecutor Desiree Leigh Grace to the post. The move comes as Habba's 120-day interim term ends this week.
While it was expected that the federal judges would not pick Habba to remain as U.S. attorney — she has been accused of political prosecutions and was criticized by a judge for her handling of the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka — the decision has been closely watched. But Habba may not need to start looking for another job yet: Some legal observers view the move to install Grace as setting up a potential showdown between the White House and judiciary, since U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president.
The Trump administration showed they're willing to fight over this. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Tuesday evening that the first assistant United States attorney in New Jersey — Grace's current position — was fired.
It's unclear what this really means, though. The Trump administration's position is that Habba's 120-day term as U.S. attorney expires Friday evening. The judge's order says that Grace becomes U.S. attorney as of July 22 or once her term is up, whichever is later. So is Grace still scheduled to be U.S. attorney come Saturday? Is Habba legally still the U.S. attorney right now? As of this newsletter's filing, it's a bit unclear.
As noted in last week's Playbook, the Trump administration used a loophole to basically install its preferred U.S. attorney past the 120-day interim period in the Northern District of New York.
Read more from me and POLITICO's Ry Rivard here.
FEEDBACK? Reach me at Dhan@politico.com
WHERE'S MURPHY? No public schedule.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'Everybody loves moms and babies.' — first lady Tammy Murphy during an event for infant and maternal health.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Michael Muller
WHAT TRENTON MADE
MATERNAL HEALTH — State breaks ground on multimillion-dollar maternal health center, by POLITICO's Daniel Han: The Murphy administration broke ground on Tuesday on the state's Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center, a legacy project for First Lady Tammy Murphy's infant and maternal health initiatives. The center, based in Trenton, will provide health care services and serve as a research and workforce hub for maternal health. There have been $86.7 million in state and federal funds bookmarked for the project and Gov. Phil Murphy told reporters on Tuesday that construction is expected to last until early 2027.
ENERGY PRICES — PJM prices continue to climb, but may not add much to ratepayer pain, by POLITICO's Ry Rivard: The nation's largest power market will see another increase in wholesale electricity prices — but utility customers are unlikely to face the type of dramatic spike next summer like the one they're paying for now. Power prices in PJM Interconnection's latest capacity auction increased by 22 percent to $329 per megawatt day, a level PJM said it expects to translate to a year-over-year increase of a 1.5 to 5 percent in some customers' bills, depending on their state. Consumers in some areas could see a drop in retail rates when they take effect next summer, PJM added.
SPEAKING OF IMPORTANT PICKS — Ciattarelli to pick Morris County sheriff as lieutenant gov, by POLITICO's Daniel Han and Madison Fernandez: Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli is expected to announce Morris County Sheriff Jim Gannon as his lieutenant governor pick, two people familiar with the matter told POLITICO. The pick is expected to be announced at Johnnies Tavern in Boonton tomorrow. Boonton is in Rep. Mikie Sherrill's district, Ciattarelli's Democratic opponent this fall. The decision to pick Gannon could give Ciattarelli a key foothold in Morris County, long a GOP stronghold where Democrats have made inroads in recent years. Gannon, however, remains popular and won the election in 2022 unopposed.
— NJ Globe: 'Sherrill hasn't consulted Murphy on LG pick, governor says'
ACADEMY AWARDS — 'NJ Turnpike board settles dispute over $3.1M that Academy bus subsidiaries owed,' by The Record's Colleen Wilson: 'The New Jersey Turnpike Authority board of directors unanimously approved an agreement with three of Academy's bus companies to resolve a 'long-running' dispute over Academy's non-payment of more than $3.1 million in license agreement payments involving service to Atlantic City and New York City. As part of the agreement, Academy will pay a reduced amount — nearly $2.7 million through monthly installments for 90 months starting August 1. If the Hoboken-based company misses a payment, the entire balance will be immediately due, according to the Turnpike board's documents. Academy is also currently paying off a $20.5 million settlement with NJ Transit to resolve allegations that it defrauded the agency out of more than $15 million for no-show buses on Hudson County routes for at least six years.'
$ — 'ELEC gives Sherrill $2.1 million, Ciattarelli $1.6 million in first general election public funds, by The New Jersey Globe's Joey Fox: 'A month and a half after they won their respective gubernatorial primaries, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) and former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-Somerville) have received their first publicly financed matching funds of the general election campaign. The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) announced this afternoon that Sherrill has received $2,085,847 in matching funds, putting her 17% of the way towards the overall $12.5 million cap, while Ciattarelli has received $1,634,757, 13% of the cap.
— The Record: 'NJ Transit moved 21K fans after Club World Cup final. Can it handle the 2026 World Cup?'
TALKIN' BUSINESS (OR NOT) — 'Sherrill struggling to connect with business community,' by Binje's Tom Bergeron: 'Here are two things that many people believe to be true: Mikie Sherrill is going to win the race to be the next governor. The polling seems to show that. Mikie Sherrill is not connecting with the business community. Her speeches seem to show that. … Speaking to the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey after its annual golf event, Sherrill gave a lackluster 6 minute, 32 second speech that was short on specifics – and passion. … More than that, the speech seemingly lacked an understanding of the serious issues and concerns of a community that has an astonishingly low net worth (less than $20,000 – or more than $500,000 less than white New Jerseyans) and struggles to get a fair rate on auto insurance, let alone a business loan.'
— OP-ED: 'Turner and Diegnan: Expanding Access to Eye Care is Smart Move for New Jersey's Seniors and Families'
— NJ Advance Media: 'Predatory coaches lurk on youth sports teams. Here's N.J.'s plan to stop them.'
TRUMP ERA
ICE — Appeals court says New Jersey improperly regulates federal government over immigrant detention centers, by POLITICO's Madison Fernandez: A federal appeals court on Tuesday dealt a blow to New Jersey's law that prohibits immigration detention agreements with the federal government, arguing that it 'interferes with the federal government's core power to enforce immigration laws.' The opinion by U.S. 3rd Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas is the latest in the long-running battle over the 2021 law, which barred new and extended immigrant detention contracts between federal authorities and state, local and private entities. CoreCivic, a private corrections company that operates a detention center in Elizabeth, sued over the law. A federal judge ruled that the provision of the law concerning private entities was unconstitutional. The state appealed, and the case was heard in May.
— NJ PBS faces steep cuts from rescissions package, by POLITICO's Daniel Han: New Jersey's local PBS station is facing steep cuts after congressional Republicans moved to claw back funding that was appropriated for public broadcasting. … A spokesperson for NJ PBS told POLITICO that it receives around 15 percent of its operating budget — nearly $1.5 million — through CPB in the 2026 fiscal year. It also applied for a $200,000 grant for 'Trenton State House multiplatform reporting.' … Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, who has supported state funds to support local journalism in the state, said in an interview that independent news is 'critically important to our democracy' but noted that the state has to figure out how to prioritize other federal funding cuts.
—'Bipartisan group of N.J. lawmakers tells Hegseth not to cut jobs at Picatinny Arsenal,' by the New Jersey Globe's Joey Fox: 'A bipartisan group of 13 New Jersey representatives and senators, encompassing nearly the state's entire congressional delegation, sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll yesterday expressing 'grave concern' over a proposed Army plan that could lead to sizable losses of funding and jobs for Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County.'
— Fox News: 'Mandani's agenda is clearly not aligned with the Democratic Party, says [Gottheimer]'
— The Record: 'Woman struck and injured by SUV at North Jersey ICE protest vows to fight on'
LOCAL
ALWAYS A JERSEY CONNECTION — The legendary Ozzy Osbourne died Tuesday, just a couple weeks after Black Sabbath's farewell concert in their native Birmingham, England. A colleague points out that Black Sabbath's first concert in the United States, in 1970, was apparently at the Esby Auditorium 'at the usually sedate Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) in Glassboro.' The godfathers of heavy metal reportedly played a short set that included now-classics like 'War Pigs' and 'Paranoid,' and Ozzy reportedly 'wandered off into a messy pile of tears' in the gym. RIP, Prince of Darkness. — Dustin Racioppi
SCHILL-AR-ELL-I — Hudson County Sheriff Schillari switches to Republican prior to his term expiring, by the Hudson County View's John Heinis: 'Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari, who was first elected as a Democrat in 2010 and will serve for a record-setting five terms, has just switched to the Republican Party prior to his term expiring at the end of the year after a primary loss to Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis.'
EVERYTHING ELSE
IN RUTGERS WE TRUST — 'Greg Schiano 'not worrying' about Rutgers' long-running AD search, has 'total faith',' by NJ Advance Media's Brian Fondeca: 'Greg Schiano is not losing sleep over the long-running search for his new boss. The Rutgers football coach has 'not spent a lot of time worrying about' the school's pursuit of its next athletic director, he said Tuesday at Big Ten Media Day. Rutgers has been without a full-time athletic director for more than 11 months. Former athletic director Pat Hobbs resigned amid scandal last August, and the school has had two interim athletic directors since.'
BIG PHARMA REPLACED BY LIL PHARMA — 'Rite Aid closing these 33 New Jersey locations amid bankruptcy,' by The Record's Daniel Munoz: 'Pharmaceutical giant Rite Aid will be closing — or has already shuttered — at least 33 locations across New Jersey following its bankruptcy in May, court filings show. The locations span North, Central and South Jersey, as well as the Jersey Shore, according to court documents, after the chain's second bankruptcy since 2023.'
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