WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump 's former personal lawyer, Alina Habba, said on Thursday that she would seek to remain as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey despite a judicial decision this week not to extend her appointment. Habba's statement marked the latest challenge by the Trump administration to oversight by federal courts.

In rare instances when judges have selected prosecutors, judges have typically appointed the same temporary U.S. attorney picked by the president, allowing for consistency and minimal disruption. Indeed, New Jersey district court judges in 2018 kept on Trump’s interim appointee, Republican Craig Carpenito.

Alina Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump’s political action committee, defended him in court in several lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year.