Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare public statement on Tuesday declaring that the impeachment of federal judges is “not an appropriate response” to disagreement with their rulings.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” said Roberts, an appointee of former President George W. Bush. “Normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
The chief justice’s brief remarks were an apparent response to recent calls for judicial impeachments regarding unfavorable rulings against the Trump administration.
The statement comes just hours after President Donald Trump called for the impeachment of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an appointee of former President Barack Obama who temporarily blocked the administration from deporting hundreds of Venezuelan nationals allegedly linked to the violent Tren de Aragua gang and MS-13. Two deportation flights had already left U.S. airspace at the time the ruling was issued.
Roberts’s comments follow other judicial impeachment calls from Trump allies for judges who have ruled against Trump’s agenda through temporary orders and, in some cases, nationwide injunctions.
TRUMP WANTS IMPEACHMENT OF JUDGE AFTER WHITE HOUSE SUGGESTED OTHERWISE
Under former President Joe Biden, several progressive lawmakers and activists also led unsuccessful efforts calling for Republican-appointed judges on the Supreme Court, such as Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, to be impeached.
This is a developing story and will be updated.