Federal appeals court judges on Monday questioned the Trump administration's maneuvers to keep the president's former lawyer, Alina Habba , in place as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor.

The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in Philadelphia didn't immediately issue a ruling after the arguments, which were attended in person by Habba.

The hearing is the most recent development in President Donald Trump's administration's effort to keep his preferred candidate in the role of U.S. attorney for New Jersey, a powerful post that oversees criminal and civil law enforcement.

The questioning started early, when Judge D. Brooks Smith asked Henry Whitaker, the attorney arguing for the government, what role Habba was filling because she was listed as a “special

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