Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) filed impeachment articles against US District Court Judge James Boasberg Tuesday afternoon for blocking US President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal immigrants and criminal gang members to Venezuela last week.
After his order for a 14-day deportation pause was ignored, Boasberg had demanded that Trump answer a set of questions by noon Tuesday, but that deadline passed without a response. Instead, in a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning, Trump blasted Boasberg, appointed by President Barack Obama, as a “Radical Left Lunatic” and said “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”
The post generated rare pushback from Supreme Court Justice – and George W. Bush appointee – John Roberts, whosaid that “for more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” adding “the normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
How could Boasberg be impeached? The House can impeach federal judges by majority vote, after which two-thirds of the Senate must vote for removal. The resolution has Trump’s support, but considering the Senate’s current split,that outcome is unlikely.
And there’s more. In other legal developments Tuesday, Maryland-based judge Theodore D. Chuangruled that DOGE and Elon Musk must stop their dismantlement of USAID. The Trump administration also began reinstating 24,000 probationary workers who were fired after US District Judge James Bredarordered their mass reinstatement last week. And finally, another judge blocked the administration from banning transgender people from serving in the military.