MAGA's push to impeach federal judges

President Donald Trump is not much interested in being checked or balanced by the judicial branch. He is calling for the impeachment of federal judges who have blocked or slowed his administration's efforts to shut down government programs and deport migrants. GOP members of Congress are heeding his call.

House Republicans have "unleashed an unprecedented flood" of impeachment charges aimed at judges who have raised Trump's ire, said Axios. Judge James Boasberg, who ruled against the government's deportation of hundreds of Venezuelans, is "at least the fifth federal judge" to face impeachment after ruling against the president. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) said Boasberg had "compromised the impartiality of the judiciary and created a constitutional crisis."

Trump is mounting a "stunning frontal assault" on the independence of the judicial system, former Judge J. Michael Luttig said at The New York Times. Boasberg "doesn't want to assume the role of president," Luttig said, but Trump does want to "assume the role of judge." But if Trump loses this war against the judiciary, it "could well cripple Trump's presidency and tarnish his legacy."

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'The judge is not the president'

Even before Trump started calling for impeachments, his supporters "seeded the ground" for a campaign against the judicial branch, said The Washington Post. After District Judge Carl Nichols blocked the firing of international aid workers, the right-wing influencer known as "Catturd" weighed in: "The judge is not the president. Ignore. Fire them all. Keep going," he wrote on X. Similar messages from other influential accounts have also argued that judges are "acting unconstitutionally and therefore should be ignored," said the Post. The message has "little legal basis" but may be potent in persuading a pro-Trump audience primed by years of messages about "election fraud and 'deep-state' corruption."

Congress has "impeached only a handful of federal judges" in American history, said Courthouse News Service. Just 15 judges have been impeached, and only eight have actually been removed from office. The Constitution allows judges to hold office for life, to be removed by impeachment only in cases where they have committed "high crimes and misdemeanors." In 2004, then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist said in a law review article that a judge's "judicial acts may not serve as a basis for impeachment." Trump disagrees.

Impeachment not 'appropriate'

Chief Justice John Roberts is pushing back, issuing a "rare statement" defending federal judges, said CBS News. Throughout American history, he said, "it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision." If judges make mistakes with their judicial reasoning in a ruling, Roberts said, the "normal appellate review" exists to correct the mistake.

Republicans are "eyeing other ways to rein in federal judges," said Politico. House Republicans are looking to advance a bill that would "crack down on the ability of lower-court judges to issue far-reaching injunctions." Such "sweeping decisions" by federal judges are worthy of "serious scrutiny," said Clare Slattery, spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Republicans will be "exploring potential legislative solutions in the weeks ahead."