US President-elect Donald Trump says that Alina Habba, a lawyer who represented him in his various legal battles, will serve as his presidential counsellor after he returns to the White House.
He wrote in a statement that Alina Habba, 40, had been “unwavering in her loyalty” and a “tireless advocate for justice”.
“She has stood with me through numerous trials, battles, and countless days in court–unwavering in her loyalty and unmatched in her resolve,” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“Alina has a deeper understanding of the weaponization of the ‘Injustice’ system than most,” Trump added.
The role of presidential counsellor – a separate role to the White House counsel, the president’s top legal adviser – was filled in Trump’s first term by Kellyanne Conway.
A New Jersey native, Ms Habba was born to two Chaldean Catholic parents who fled persecution in Iraq in the early 1980s. With her Iraqi origin, Habba is Chaldean, the biggest Christian denomination in Iraq and one of the Eastern rites of the Catholic Church.
This was highlighted by Trump, who wrote in his statement: “As a first generation American of Middle Eastern heritage, she has become a role model for women in law and politics.”
The mother-of-three joined Trump’s personal legal team in 2021 after reportedly meeting him at his country club in Bedminster, New Jersey – where her law firm is also based.
The former president, still seething after his defeat in the 2020 election and facing a mounting pile of lawsuits, plucked her from her relatively small law firm to serve as his most high-profile lawyer.
Ms Habba emerged as one of the Republican’s most vocal defenders, and would later join him on the campaign trail ahead of the presidential election.
After emerging as his chief legal aide, Ms Habba was drawn more deeply into Trump’s orbit. She has been known to make frequent appearances at his clubs in New Jersey and Florida.
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