A federal appeals court has dealt President Donald Trump a major setback, ruling that the administration broke federal law in appointing an interim U.S. attorney, the New York Post reported.

The court ruled that Acting New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alia Habba is disqualified because the White House violated federal law in order to keep her in the post.

The panel of three judges upheld a lower court ruling which found that Habba’s appointment ran afoul of a 1998 law that governs federal vacancies.

“It is apparent that the current administration has been frustrated by some of the legal and political barriers to getting its appointees in place,” senior U.S. Circuit Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote in the new ruling.

Fisher wrote, “Its efforts to elevate its preferred candidate for U.S. Attorney

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