Presidents have the power to appoint cabinet leaders and other high level officials to shape their administration and its priorities.

One of those appointments is the US attorney for each state here in New Jersey.

President Trump has appointed his former personal attorney, Alina Habba, a New Jersey resident who the president said will lead with the same diligence and conviction that has defined her career.

And she will fight tirelessly to secure a legal system that is both fair and just for the wonderful people of New Jersey.

Now, her appointment would typically go through a Senate approval process, but that's not happening here.

I'm joined now by our Washington, D.C. correspondent Ben Hulac to add some clarity on how this process is playing out.

Ben, great to talk to you.

As you reported on recently, Alina Habba has been named interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

What does that interim part of her title mean for the Senate approval process?

It means she starts around it.

There won't be a hearing or any sort of vote on her now.

I should point out there typically are not hearings for U.S. attorneys or the 90 plus U.S. attorneys across the nation, but there is generally some sort of input from some state senators, and that is not the case today.

So there usually is a vetting and an approval process done by the United States Senate.

What is looked at in that process?

Well, this is the sort of job for which you have to submit a financial disclosure statement and your conflicts of interests or at least potential conflicts of interests.

This really fits a pattern, I would say, in Trump tapping about to be an interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

It fits this broader pattern of his that stems from his first term in office, which is going around the Senate altogether, certainly federally confirmed positions to serve federal jobs that typically need Senate confirmation and just skirting, sidestepping entirely the Senate.

He does have control.

Republicans have control of the Senate right now.

So wouldn't it seem that she would be pretty easily confirmed likely.

And the Republicans in the Senate have gotten through really controversial picks like ash patel for fbi director rfk jr for health secretary.

The unusual part about that.

But i think even in the trump era, it transcends normal political practice is that she is this ardent loyalist to president trump.

Now that may seem sort of common as a theme for viewers at home, but for U.S. attorneys, these are typically under Republican presidents who are conservatives, people and under Democratic presidents, more liberal people, but they're typically trained.

Prosecutors have a background in this.

All of his background is really as a as a leader of a small firm in New Jersey and as a personal attorney to the president.

So this is really a departure from norms.

To me, it seems sort of akin to John F Kennedy when he was president, naming his brother as attorney general.

It's a very tight bond and really is unusual.

Highly unusual.

This is an office that was held once by former Governor Chris Christie.

It was held by Chief Justice Samuel Alito.

It's a position that requires some teeth.

As you said, she was President Trump's personal attorney.

She said she's coming after corruption in New Jersey.

What have you heard from her?

Well, she made the statements at the White House earlier this week that she was sort of a blanket statement targeting corruption in New Jersey.

She Namechecked Cory Booker and Governor Phil Murphy specifically, and then criticized the cities of Camden and Newark broadly about corruption.

But there were no specifics.

And when I asked the governor's office and Senator Booker's office, their thoughts both declined to comment on the record.

This is either is, as I've said a few times now, highly unusual.

She is this campaign surrogate who introduced the president when he was running in the fall at that raucous in Madison Square Garden event.

She is not a typical line prosecutor.

This is someone who views Democrats, as I would say, with disdain.

I think that's a fair statement.

Well, Ben, if she stays in this interim role, what are the limitations on how she can do her job, how she can investigate or perhaps litigate cases?

Given the time limit around an interim?

Well, this is this gets back to what Trump did in his first term.

She would tap people to be interim, fill in run roles, be in a temporary position, and then they would lapse and he might name somebody else or the position would just sit vacant.

So at this point, there really are very few guardrails other than public scrutiny.

Now, Ben Hulac our Washington, D.C. correspondent.

You can read more on Ben's reporting on our Web site.

NJSpotlightNews.org.

Ben, great to talk to you.

Thank you.

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