Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement on Tuesday pushing back on a push by some Republicans to impeach federal judges who have sided against President Donald Trump’s second-term administration.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
Over the past few weeks, a couple of House Republicans have unveiled articles of impeachment against federal judges who have issued rulings unfavorable to the Trump administration, arguing they have become “judicial activists.”
The Daily Wire reported the latest set of impeachment articles was introduced against James Boasberg, an Obama-appointed judge blocking Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport violent criminal illegal migrants.
Trump himself took aim at Boasberg in a post on Truth Social earlier on Tuesday, calling him a “troublemaker and agitator” who “like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”
More than a dozen judges have been subject to impeachment proceedings over the course of United States history, dating back to the 1700s. Some of the cases resulted in a guilty verdict and removal from office.
The House and Senate are currently led by Republicans, though by slim margins. While a simple majority to impeach could be achieved along party lines in the House, a bipartisan group of 67 senators would be needed to convict.
Mike Davis, who helped oversee the vetting of judicial appointments as a Senate staffer and now runs the conservative Article III Project, responded defiantly to Robert’s statement on impeaching judges in a post on X.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is a political decision by Congress. An activist judge ordering planes to turn around during a national-security operation is not a ‘judicial decision,’” Davis said.
“That is a highly illegal and extremely dangerous sabotage of the presidency, which is an impeachable offense,” he added. “Your statement is not an appropriate response. The normal impeachment process exists for that purpose.”
