How Alina Habba Ruined One Of Donald Trump's Biggest Mar-A-Lago Bashes
Alina Habba kicked off 2025 by stepping into the role of counselor to the president, and ended it by resigning from her subsequent position as New Jersey's interim U.S. attorney after the appeals court ruled that her appointment was unlawful. It was a bad look, and it stands to reason that Habba wasn't feeling the MAGA hype as the year sped to a close. She was notably absent from President Donald Trump's New Year's Eve bash at Mar-a-Lago. Whether this was due to lack of an invitation or because she simply wasn't feeling it is unclear, but Habba threw her own party at her Florida residence, and some prominent White House folks ditched the president's over-the-top bash for the controversial attorney's more laidback event.
Donald and Melania Trump's 2025 New Year's Eve bash was a fashion disaster for all involved, and even their son, Barron Trump's, boredom was obvious at the glitzy Mar-a-Lago do. It's therefore not terribly surprising that some of the attendees made a run for it and headed to Habba's party instead. One of them was Trump's special assistant and communications advisor Margo Martin. Insider sources dished to the Daily Mail that she partied with the Mar-a-Lago crowd before ditching them for Habba's event, which was much more exclusive, with only about 30 high-profile people in attendance.
The party being smaller and more intimate made it all the more appealing compared to the president's raucous bash, which had thousands of attendees. Suffice it to say, Habba totally stole his thunder. The former White House staffer was in attendance at the 2024 NYE Mar-a-Lago bash, infamously showing her support to her boss with a black clutch featuring the sequenced letters "FJB," an abbreviation commonly employed by the MAGA faithful, which stands for "F**k Joe Biden."
Habba's reputation has taken a hit since she started working with Trump
There is no denying the red flags in Alina Habba and Donald Trump's relationship, and perhaps her hosting a New Year's Eve bash separate to the Mar-a-Lago celebration hints that she's giving her former boss the cold shoulder. After all, cycling through two different high-profile jobs within the span of a year is hardly a good look for a serious attorney. In the aftermath of Habba's resignation from her rather dubious position as New Jersey's interim U.S. attorney, she announced that she would be working as Attorney General Pam Bondi's senior advisor. MS Now theorized that Habba's new job alongside her pal was likely nothing but "a meaningless consolation prize" and that it wouldn't really require her to do much of anything, except look good for the cameras.
Similarly, following Habba's appointment in New Jersey, Trump's former White House attorney, Ty Cobb, told Vanity Fair that he believed the president "hired her for his own amusement." Cobb added, "This is not somebody who you get a résumé and you go, 'This person really deserves to be in a position of authority.' I wish her well, but she's so far out of her depth." Habba didn't agree, clarifying, "You can't last this many years in this world and be an idiot or lazy. I can tell you, the president does not tolerate it either."
Trump made all the right noises after Habba's resignation, blaming the Democrats for the court's ruling. "It's a very sad situation. [...] We're losing a lot of great people," he lamented in December 2025, per The Economic Times. This didn't change the fact that the president was the one who put Habba in such a precarious situation in the first place.