Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare and sharp rebuke on Tuesday after President Trump called for the impeachment of a federal judge who ruled against his administration in a high-profile deportation case.
“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,” Roberts said.
Roberts’ comments came hours after Trump targeted U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, who blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to quickly deport Venezuelan migrants labeled as gang members.
The legal battle escalated when plaintiffs questioned whether Trump’s team followed Boasberg’s order to halt deportation flights, putting the administration and judiciary on a collision course.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump slammed Judge Boasberg, calling him “a Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama.” Trump continued by attacking the judge’s election history, saying, “he didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING!”
Trump went on to call for Boasberg’s impeachment, stating, “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Trump’s latest attack on judges he disagrees with is one of his fiercest since taking office for a second term.
Roberts’ response, which did not directly mention Trump, echoed a similar statement he made in 2018 when Trump called another judge an “Obama judge” after a ruling against one of his immigration policies. Roberts then emphasized, “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.”
Trump’s latest tirade against the judiciary comes as several Republican lawmakers have pushed for Boasberg’s impeachment, along with other judges who have blocked Trump administration policies.
Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), one of the lawmakers leading the impeachment effort, hit back at Roberts’ statement, claiming, “This isn’t a disagreement concerning a judicial decision — this is a full-on, broad-based effort of radical judges to stop President Trump and the mandate he received from the American people to carry out his agenda.”
