Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) opposes President Donald Trump‘s desire to impeach judges who have proven to be roadblocks to the administration’s agenda.
Grassley acknowledged a “massive abuse” of national injunctions in recent years and said that legislation needs to be passed to remedy this and prevent district judges from becoming “policymakers.” However, when asked about Trump’s call to impeach the judges ruling against him, the Iowa senator was clearly not a fan, advocating an alternate route in dealing with these judges.
“You can’t impeach a judge just because you disagree with their opinion,” Grassley said on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom. “But we want to overcome some of that problem by having these cases that hang around for a long time, and they may have a national injunction after the money’s already been spent, or some appeal goes on and the person has been wronged. That’s why we want to have legislation that would appeal these decisions very quickly.”
Grassley clarified that he does not blame Trump for being “irritated” at the judges ruling against him and his agenda but reiterated his belief that judges cannot be impeached simply over disagreements. As such, he has advocated that the United States remain a “legislative body” in dealing with this.
Trump has advocated the impeachment of judges working against Trump’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants, as the administration has butted heads with Judge James Boasberg. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) has since filed articles of impeachment against Boasberg.
TRUMP SIGNED IMPEACHMENT REPORT COULD FETCH THOUSANDS AT AUCTION
The House Judiciary Committee is preparing for a hearing on Tuesday about the judges blocking the Trump administration’s actions. Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said he has an idea of who the witnesses would be. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has told Republicans that the work would be done within the committee rather than bringing Gill’s bill to the floor.
Grassley, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, will lead his own hearing on the national injunctions and the legislative solutions.