There was a major showdown on Tuesday between Donald Trump and the judiciary as a rare public dressing-down from Supreme Court Justice John Roberts followed the president’s call for the impeachment of a federal judge who suspended deportation flights of suspected illegal migrants.
“For over two centuries, it has been settled that impeachment is not the appropriate remedy for disagreement with a judicial ruling,” Roberts said. “The routine appellate review process is for that reason.”
Roberts’ remarks followed Trump’s attack on District Judge James Boasberg, calling him a “Crooked Judge” and calling for his impeachment in a Truth Social post. It is the first time Trump has called for a judge to be impeached since he became president in January.
Federal judges, who are appointed for life, may be removed only by impeachment from the House of Representatives for “high crimes or misdemeanors,” followed by Senate conviction. Such impeachments are extremely unusual, with the most recent one taking place in 2010.
After Trump’s comments, Texas Republican politician Brandon Gill proclaimed on X that articles of impeachment would be presented to the House “very soon.”
Trump, the first president to be a convicted felon, has a history of going after judges who are involved in his criminal and civil cases. Judge Boasberg was ordering the suspension of deportation flights for members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to El Salvador, incurring Trump’s wrath.
The White House had cited the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as legal justification for the deportation flights, even though no evidence has been released to prove criminal connections or immigration status of the deportees. Boasberg presided over a hearing Monday on whether the White House had disregarded his orders but did not enter a ruling immediately.
Justice Department attorneys contended that the over 200 Venezuelan migrants had already left the U.S. when the judge issued his ruling, stating that jurisdiction was lost once the planes crossed U.S. airspace.
In his Truth Social entry, Trump referred to Boasberg as a “Radical Left Lunatic” and denounced his judicial power, saying his election win was partly a mandate against illegal immigration.
Judge Boasberg, a Yale alumnus to the DC Superior Court George W. Bush appointed and to the district court Barack Obama appointed, has been criticized by the White House, especially after decisions opposed to Trump’s policies such as rejecting attempts to abolish birthright citizenship.
There have been increased concerns over Trump’s efforts to concentrate power in the executive, with fears of a brazen disregard for the judiciary and a possible constitutional crisis. In a year-end letter in December, Justice Roberts underscored the risks of ignoring court decisions, stating that such steps must be “soundly rejected.”
