Another Trump loyalist is out the door, and this time the reason wasn’t scandal, burnout, or a change in political winds. It was fear. Fear of being the next name dragged into court over what critics say are blatantly illegal appointments pushed by Donald Trump during his second term.
On Friday, Julianne Murray abruptly resigned as U.S. attorney in Delaware. Murray, a former head of the state Republican Party, had been serving in an interim role after being appointed over the summer. Her departure didn’t happen in a vacuum. It came on the heels of a stinging ruling from the 3rd Circuit Court involving another Trump ally, former interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba.
That timing matters. And according to legal advocates watching closely, it sent a very clear message.
During Monday night’s episode of the “Norm and Katie’s Legal Fight Club” podcast, Democracy Defenders Action founder Norm Eisen and journalist Kate Phang didn’t hide their satisfaction. They see Murray’s resignation as proof that pressure works — and that Trump’s strategy is starting to crack.
“We’ve actually scared people into submission!” Phang said. “She stepped away from the fight because she didn’t want to take the heat. She saw what happened to Alina Habba resigned from her position … who was illegally appointed, and this woman, Julianne Murray, said, ‘I’m not going to do this.’”
Murray reportedly cited the 3rd Circuit’s ruling on Habba’s appointment when explaining her decision to step down, according to The Washington Post. In other words, once the courts showed they weren’t bluffing, Murray read the room and chose the exit.
This resignation adds to a growing problem for Trump: his aggressive use of interim appointments to sidestep Senate confirmation. Lawmakers have been fighting him over it for nearly the entirety of his second term. Trump’s approach has been simple — install loyalists, dare Congress and the courts to stop him, and move on to the next post.
But that strategy depends on one key factor: people willing to take the fall.
Increasingly, they aren’t.
Habba’s forced resignation appears to have changed the calculation for others quietly occupying similar roles. Once one appointee is publicly ruled illegal and pushed out, it becomes a warning shot to the rest. Stay, and you might be next. Leave now, and you avoid the spotlight.
Eisen made it clear that this is exactly the point.
Democracy Defenders Action has been at the forefront of efforts to challenge Trump’s interim appointments, which Eisen describes as an attempt to stack the government with unvetted loyalists. The goal isn’t just to win individual cases — it’s to make the appointments toxic enough that people don’t want them.
“Donald Trump doesn’t get to appoint whoever he wants,” Eisen said.
That line cuts to the heart of the fight. This isn’t just about Murray or Habba. It’s about whether a president can bulldoze constitutional guardrails and dare everyone else to clean up the mess later.
For now, at least one official decided it wasn’t worth it.
Murray didn’t go down swinging. She didn’t challenge the ruling. She didn’t wait to see if the courts would come knocking. She walked away. And to Trump’s critics, that’s a small but meaningful victory — proof that legal pressure and public scrutiny can still work, even against a president who thrives on chaos and confrontation.
The bigger question is how many more of Trump’s interim appointees are quietly watching this unfold and wondering if they should be next to resign. If fear is setting in, this may not be the last abrupt exit.
Watch the discussion below:
