Chief Justice Roberts Issues Statement Amid Trump Admin Battle With Judge Over Flights
Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare public statement Tuesday, rejecting calls from some Republican lawmakers to impeach federal judges who have ruled against the Trump administration.
Roberts emphasized that impeachment should not be used as a tool to contest judicial decisions, reaffirming longstanding precedent.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts stated. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
The statement comes as House Republicans introduce impeachment articles against judges accused of judicial activism. The latest effort targets U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee who blocked the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport violent illegal migrants.
The outrage expressed by Chief SCOTUS Justice Roberts over President Trump’s call for judges to be impeached is all manufactured and faux outrage.
How come Justice Roberts didn’t have the same public outcry when @AOC called for impeaching SCOTUS judges?
Roberts is anti-Trump. pic.twitter.com/je9eGh1i4f
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 18, 2025
Trump criticized Boasberg on Truth Social, labeling him a “troublemaker and agitator” and calling for his impeachment.
Historically, impeachment of federal judges has been rare. Since the nation’s founding, over a dozen judges have faced impeachment proceedings, with some resulting in removal from office. The process requires a simple majority vote in the House but demands a two-thirds majority in the Senate for conviction. Given the current Republican-led but narrowly divided Congress, removal remains unlikely.
Mike Davis, head of the conservative Article III Project, pushed back against Roberts’ statement, arguing that impeachment is a congressional decision, not a judicial one.
“An activist judge ordering planes to turn around during a national-security operation is not a ‘judicial decision,’” Davis wrote on X. “That is a highly illegal and extremely dangerous sabotage of the presidency, which is an impeachable offense.”