A federal judge is pausing his disqualification of Sigal Chattah as Nevada’s acting U.S. attorney while the Department of Justice appeals the decision.

In a Thursday opinion, Judge David Campbell ruled that he stood by his disqualification decision, but was staying his earlier ruling as the court “recognizes the deference and respect it should have for the Executive Branch, just as the Executive Branch should have deference and respect for the Judiciary.”

The ruling means that Chattah will temporarily be able to stay involved in certain cases that her office is prosecuting, while a federal appellate court weighs an appeal from the Department of Justice. Both sides have asked the appeals court to expedite the case through a proposed schedule that would require an opening brief to be filed next week.

Thursday’s decision is a win for the Justice Department. It argued earlier this month that the decision should be put on hold, similar to a case in New Jersey involving Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba. A judge also disqualified her appointment to the position but put the ruling on hold pending an appeal, which was heard this week.

Chattah and lawyers with Nevada’s federal public defender’s office, which brought the lawsuits to disqualify her, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

It’s the latest update in the monthslong saga regarding Chattah’s role as Nevada’s top federal law enforcement official.

The Trump administration appointed her as interim U.S. attorney in March, which came with a 120-day term, but it then pursued a series of moves to reclassify her as the acting U.S. attorney. This allowed her to remain as Nevada’s top federal law enforcement official without Senate confirmation for an additional 210-day term.

Chattah resigned as interim U.S. attorney in July the day before her 120-day term was set to expire. That same day, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Chattah as the state’s first assistant U.S. attorney, a position that allows her to also serve as acting U.S. attorney through February. The first assistant position became vacant after the Department of Justice transferred the previous officeholder to a new role.

Nevada’s two Democratic U.S. senators have opposed the Justice Department’s appointment of Chattah.

Four Nevada defendants sued earlier this year to disqualify Chattah — whose office was prosecuting them — and dismiss their cases, arguing she had been appointed to her role through a series of illegal “personnel maneuvers.” In late September, Campbell ruled that her appointment had indeed been illegal, but he declined to dismiss the cases outright. Both of these decisions are being appealed.

As part of his ruling, Campbell required the Justice Department to attest that Chattah is no longer participating in the four cases in question — which the agency provided — but Thursday’s ruling indicates she could now be allowed to play a role in these prosecutions.

Since that ruling, Nevada’s federal public defender’s office has argued that Chattah should also be disqualified in several other cases.

Chattah, one of the most outspoken conservatives in Nevada, unsuccessfully ran for attorney general in 2022 and served as the state’s Republican National Committeewoman until earlier this year.

She has long been a supporter of President Donald Trump. In her tenure so far, she has launched a federal investigation into UNLV over antisemitism allegations and urged the FBI to launch a voter fraud probe in Nevada to help Republicans.