In a rare statement on Tuesday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected Donald Trump’s call to impeach a federal judge who ruled against his administration in a deportation case.
Over the weekend, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered a halt to the effort to deport hundreds of immigrants allegedly affiliated with Venezuelan gangs after Trump invoked a controversial 18th century wartime law.
The Trump administration ignored the judge’s orders and went ahead with the deportation flights anyway. Boasberg ordered the DOJ to appear in court on Monday to explain why they ignored his ruling and one DOJ attorney argued that the verbal order was “not enforceable.”
On Tuesday, Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment.
“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
Roberts rejected Trump’s impeachment call in a statement saying there are other avenues available to respond to a ruling a party in a case does not agree with.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts wrote. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) has already introduced Articles of Impeachment against Judge Boasberg, alleging that he “abused the powers of his judicial authority.”
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) also filed articles of impeachment against District Judge Paul Engelmayer in February after he limited the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to sensitive data at the Treasury Department, Axios reported.
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) also drafted articles of impeachment against U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. for issuing a temporary restraining order (TRO) last month to stop a widespread funding freeze to various programs nationwide.
South African born billionaire and DOGE leader Elon Musk has called for a wave” of judicial impeachments as Trump’s sweeping executive orders and DOGE face legal roadblocks.
Republicans have signalled their intent willingly go along with Trump and Musk’s demands to impeach judges simply for issuing a ruling they do not agree with.
