EXCLUSIVE — A group of Senate Republicans led by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) is pressing the federal judiciary to sideline Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia while the House of Representatives considers whether to impeach him.
The Republicans argue in a new letter that his handling of matters involving the FBI‘s pursuit of lawmakers’ phone records and other Trump-related matters has “undermined confidence” in the courts and requires immediate intervention.
In a letter sent Monday to D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, Sens. Schmitt, Mike Lee (R-UT), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) urged the circuit judicial council to place Boasberg on administrative suspension. They told Srinivasan that the chief district judge “should be administratively suspended pending formal impeachment by the House of Representatives and, if impeached, an impeachment trial by the Senate.” Removal would require a two-thirds vote in the upper chamber.
The group of senators grounded the request in the impeachment articles lodged on Nov. 4 by Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX), who accused Boasberg of improperly authorizing nondisclosure orders to cellular companies, including AT&T and Verizon, and other Big Tech companies, including Apple and Meta, as part of the Biden administration FBI’s “Arctic Frost” investigation.
To date, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has uncovered that at least 13 members of Congress were targeted by Biden-era subpoenas from investigative efforts that preceded two federal indictments against President Donald Trump, thanks to the help of whistleblowers and records handed to him by the Justice Department.
The letter cites allegations that Boasberg granted former special counsel Jack Smith authorization to “issue frivolous nondisclosure orders in furtherance of … Arctic Frost,” blocking lawmakers and others from learning that Smith had obtained their phone and communications records. The senators told Srinivasan that his own court “adopted a similar sentiment” in In re: Sealed Case, when it reversed Boasberg for erring “by too permissively granting government-requested nondisclosure orders against X Corp.”
Their letter labels “Arctic Frost” only the first of several concerns. It highlights a Supreme Court rebuke in Trump v J.G.G., in which a majority of the justices concluded that Boasberg “lacked jurisdiction” to preside over a suit he assigned to himself on March 15 involving the deportation flights of Venezuelan gang members. It also references a misconduct complaint filed this summer alleging that Boasberg used a Judicial Conference meeting to raise “a wholly unsolicited discussion” about fears the administration might disregard federal court rulings. The senators wrote that, taken together, these episodes reflect a “pattern” that warrants immediate action while impeachment moves forward.
The lawmakers pressed Srinivasan to detail how he is handling the formal judicial misconduct complaint filed by the Justice Department on July 28. That complaint was submitted under 28 United States Code § 351 and triggers statutory duties for the chief judge to act “expeditiously.” The senators write that Srinivasan must either take “appropriate corrective action” or dismiss the matter in writing under § 352. They told him they “assume” he has already moved into § 353 territory, which requires a special committee investigation, because he has issued no public order.
“To that end, please submit the following in writing,” the senators wrote, requesting a full status update, any communications with Boasberg, any records created during the review, and a written explanation if no action has been taken.
If a special committee is established, the senators asked that Srinivasan “place Boasberg on administrative suspension and remove him from the Circuit Judicial Council” until both the misconduct inquiry and House impeachment process conclude. They also asked for an explanation “for why you are yet to place him on administrative suspension and have allowed him to remain on the Circuit Judicial Council while these claims have been pending.”
The senators cite precedent for such a move. Former Louisiana federal judge G. Thomas Porteous, who died in 2021, was administratively suspended during an impeachment inquiry while the Judicial Conference probed allegations of bribery and fraud.
Boasberg has long been a point of conflict between Republican administrations and the federal judiciary. In March, he issued a nationwide injunction blocking Trump’s plan to deport alleged members of Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan gang. Trump called for his impeachment after that ruling and argued that the judge had jeopardized public safety.
Boasberg has presided over several cases touching on Trump or his inner circle. In 2023, he ordered former Vice President Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury about his interactions with Trump in the final days before the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. In the case of former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, Boasberg offered him probation rather than jail time in January 2021, when he pleaded guilty to forging an email used as evidence to surveil 2016 Trump campaign official Carter Page.
The push to suspend him comes after weeks of escalating disclosures about “Arctic Frost.” Lawmakers have expressed outrage after the release of FBI files revealing that Smith’s team issued 197 subpoenas targeting more than 430 Republican figures, organizations, and donors. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), whose phone metadata was among the records sought, has accused Boasberg of “abusing his power” by finding without evidence that GOP senators may destroy records if notified of the subpoenas.
‘BIDEN’S WATERGATE’: JACK SMITH SOUGHT 197 SUBPOENAS IN ARCTIC FROST INVESTIGATION
Impeachment of a federal judge remains rare and politically fraught. Fifteen judges have been impeached in American history, and even fewer have been convicted and removed. Republican leaders have historically shown reluctance to pursue judicial impeachment even when criticizing individual rulings. Chief Justice John Roberts on the Supreme Court has also cautioned that impeachment is “not an appropriate response” to disagreements over judicial decisions.
The senators told Srinivasan that Boasberg’s position demands a fuller accounting. “While this impeachment process proceeds,” they wrote, “we must have transparency regarding the actions the Circuit Judicial Council is taking against the judicial misconduct of Chief Judge Boasberg.”
READ THE FULL LETTER TO CHIEF JUDGE SRI SRINIVASAN:
11.17.2025 Letter to Chief Judge Srinivasan SIGNED by reportoftheday