About four months ago, Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Alina Habba, one of Trump’s personal lawyers, as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey. Habba spent her brief tenure in office bringing dubious prosecutions and investigations against elected Democrats, including a failed prosecution of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and an ongoing case against US Rep. LaMonica McIver. Prior to this appointment, Habba had no experience as a prosecutor.

But Habba’s appointment expires this week. And the Trump administration’s ham-handed response to that expiration has created an awkward situation where it’s not entirely clear who, if anyone, is currently the US Attorney in New Jersey.

By law, Bondi only has the authority to appoint interim US Attorneys for 120 days. There is some dispute over whether this clock ran out on Tuesday or whether Habba remains in office through Friday, but the law is quite clear that Habba ceases to be US Attorney after time runs out.

The same law states that once Habba’s appointment expires, the federal district court in New Jersey “may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled” by a Senate-confirmed nominee (Trump nominated Habba to serve as US Attorney indefinitely, but that nomination is currently stalled due to opposition from both of New Jersey’s Democratic senators).

On Tuesday, New Jersey’s federal judges issued a brief order announcing that Desiree Leigh Grace, a career prosecutor who previously served as Habba’s first assistant — the No. 2 lawyer in the US........

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