How likely is it that some of these judges facing scrutiny from President Trump will be impeached?
President Trump this week joined the growing chorus of calls to punish federal judges who rule against his administration. But impeachment and removal are unlikely under the current makeup of Congress.
The recent calls to impeach federal judges increased earlier this week when Mr. Trump posted on social media that a U.S. district judge overseeing his administration’s efforts to deport Venezuelan migrants suspected of being gang members should be impeached.
While the attack by Mr. Trump marked the first time he called for a judge to be impeached, his Republican allies and Elon Musk, a senior White House adviser, have for weeks been denouncing members of the judiciary who have been overseeing the myriad legal challenges to the president’s policies and ruled against the administration.
In the House, a small group of hard-right Republican lawmakers have introduced or signed onto resolutions to impeach four of those judges. While it’s unlikely the efforts will gain enough traction to result in their removals, they have reignited the debate over impeachment and the high bar for removal for high crimes and misdemeanors. The GOP calls to impeach a federal judge
The president called for U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s impeachment in a post on social media Tuesday, saying without naming him that «This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!»
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt continued the attacks on Boasberg and other judges who have issued preliminary rulings against the administration.
«The judges in this country are acting erroneously», she told reporters during a press briefing. «We have judges who are acting as partisan activists from the bench. They are trying to dictate policy from the president of the United States. They are trying to clearly slowwalk this administration’s agenda and it’s unacceptable.»
Leavitt said the president «has made it clear that he believes this judge in this case should be impeached.» She noted that the White House will comply with judicial orders and mount appeals of adverse rulings, as it has done so far but accused judges of undermining the will of the Americans who voted for Mr. Trump.
Freshman Rep. Brandon Gill, a Texas Republican, on Tuesday filed articles of impeachment against Boasberg after Mr. Trump’s post, alleging on social media that Boasberg «is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors and should be removed from office.» Five Republicans have signed onto the impeachment articles as cosponsors.
Impeachment resolutions have also been introduced against U.S. District Judges Paul Engelmayer, John Bates and Amir Ali. GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia said last month that he was going to draft impeachment articles against U.S. District Judge John McConnell, but they do not appear to have been filed.How does impeachment work?
Under the Constitution, the basis for impeachment is «high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
