Chief Justice Roberts shames judicial impeachment talk, rebukes Trump stance

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. pushed back at calls to impeach judges who rule against President Trump’s agenda.

The George W. Bush appointee said the appeal process exists when one disagrees with judicial rulings.

“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,” the chief justice said in a statement Tuesday.

The comment comes after Mr. Trump said U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, an Obama appointee, should be impeached for ordering the administration to turn back planes of illegal immigrant gang members flown to El Salvador. 

“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social.

Rep. Brandon Gill, Texas Republican, filed paperwork Tuesday afternoon, hours after Mr. Trump’s post to impeach the Obama appointee.

He said in the articles of impeachment that Judge Boasberg violated his oath and was not impartial because he was prioritizing “political gain.”

Mr. Trump’s demand echoes that of tech billionaire Elon Musk, who said on X in recent weeks that if a judge rules against Mr. Trump’s agenda, that judge should be impeached. 

For the past several weeks, judges have been handling challenges to Mr. Trump’s agenda, as more than 100 lawsuits have been filed looking to curtail his moves to fire people, pause government spending and change immigration policy.

“The only way to restore rule of the people in America is to impeach judges. No one is above the law, including judges,” Mr. Musk’s post read.

Two Republican congressmen, Reps. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin and Eli Crane of Arizona, took up Mr. Musk’s invitation, filing articles of impeachment against U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who temporarily blocked the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records.

The Judicial Conference, which convenes to tackle court issues, last week warned about the dangerous impeachment talk. 

“Impeachment shouldn’t be a short-circuiting of that process,” said Judge Richard Sullivan, who chairs the Judicial Conference’s security committee.