President Trump’s war with the judiciary escalated Tuesday with the firing of an attorney named by federal judges to replace Alina Habba, the loyalist he tapped as New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor.

The judges refused to extend Habba’s temporary tenure as U.S. Attorney, instead invoking a seldom used power to appoint their own pick. But Attorney General Pam Bondi quickly intervened, shunning the “politically minded judges” for dumping Habba and terminating their selected successor.

It’s a new front in the ongoing tug-of-war between the executive and judicial branches, as the courts push back against the president’s most controversial appointments and the Trump administration doubles down.

“This is ultimately a bit of a game of chicken, where I suspect that the administration has the upper hand,” said Jonathan Petkun, a law professor at Duke University who has researched judicial administrative power.

Here’s what to know.

New Jersey US attorney's office thrown in disarray

The back-and-forth has muddied the waters regarding the office’s leadership.

After a private vote Monday, U.S. District Court of New Jersey judges declined to retain Habba as the state’s top federal prosecutor as the clock on her interim status runs out. It issued a standing order naming attorney Desiree Leigh Grace to the role — an unusual move.

Habba represented Trump in several high-profile civil cases and, most recently, worked in the White House as a counselor to the president.

The judges had the authority to keep Habba in her role as U.S. attorney indefinitely, until her Senate confirmation, but they declined to do so. Federal law lets district courts appoint an interim U.S. attorney to fill the role if the roughly 4-month temporary stint ends before........

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