The Fulcrum introduces Congress Bill Spotlight, a weekly report by Jesse Rifkin, focusing on the noteworthy legislation of the thousands introduced in Congress. Rifkin has written about Congress for years, and now he's dissecting the most interesting bills you need to know about, but that often don't get the right news coverage.
Federal judges have ruled against Trump on issues including immigrant deportations, transgender healthcare information, and Elon Musk’s DOGE. Should they be impeached?
Context: The News
In March, President Donald Trump ordered the deportation of alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Trump did so by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 for only the fourth time in American history—and the first time outside of an official war.
But after a federal judge ordered a temporary restraining order of the deportation flights, Trump called for an unusual remedy. “This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge [is] a troublemaker and agitator,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”
Not long after Trump’s post, a Republican House member introduced an impeachment resolution for the judge.
That’s not the only one. By The Fulcrum ’s count, less than 100 days into the presidency, House Republicans have already introduced resolutions to impeach six different judges who ruled against Trump administration policies.
This marks a fundamentally new approach. For comparison, during the last time when Trump was president and Republicans controlled the House, in 2017-18, House Republicans introduced zero judicial impeachment resolutions —even though plenty of judges ruled against Trump during those years too.
Which Judges?
The Fulcrum has counted six judicial impeachment resolutions introduced in 2025 so far. Here’s a short summary for each judge.
Judge: James Boasberg, D.C. District Court
- Nominated by: Both parties. Originally nominated for his first judicial position by Republican George W. Bush, Boasberg was nominated to his current position by Democrat Barack Obama.
- Judge’s decision: Halting deportation flights for alleged Venezuelan gang members. (Although the administration has since acknowledged wrongly deporting at least one person.)
- House Republicans filing impeachment: Reps. Brandon Gill (R-TX26) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ5)
- Cosponsors: 22 Republicans for the Gill proposal, six Republicans for the Biggs proposal.
- What they say: “We will not stand by as radical activist Judge James Boasberg tramples on the Constitution out of political spite for the president,” Rep. Gill said in a press release. “The American people gave us a mandate to get criminal illegal aliens out of our country, and that’s exactly what we intend to do.”
- Current status of legal case: An appeals court affirmed Boasberg’s decision by 2-1. The two majority judges were Karen Henderson, nominated by Republican George H.W. Bush, and Patricia Millett, appointed by Democrat Barack Obama. The dissenter was Justin Walker, who was appointed by Trump himself. The government is now appealing to the Supreme Court.
Judge: John Bates, D.C. District Court
- Nominated by: George W. Bush, Republican
- Judge’s decision: Ordering restoration of thousands of shuttered government health webpages, which had removed content on everything from vaccinations to transgender healthcare.
- House Republican filing impeachment: Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN5)
- Cosponsors: One Republican
- What they say: “Requiring taxpayer funds to disseminate information endorsing the castration of children is repugnant,” Rep. Ogles said in a press release. “The continued socialization of this grave moral evil necessitates immediate congressional action against those promoting it… It is unacceptable for rogue judges to implicate taxpayers in woke LGBTQ propaganda and the irreversible destruction of children’s bodies.”
- Current status: The government has appealed the decision.
Judge: Paul Engelmayer, New York District Court
- Nominated by: Barack Obama, Democrat
- Judge’s decision: Blocking Elon Musk and DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) from accessing Treasury Department payment systems.
- House Republicans filing impeachment: Reps. Eli Crane (R-AZ2) and Derrick Van Orden (R-WI3)
- Cosponsors: 12 Republicans for the Crane proposal, one Republican for the Van Orden proposal.
- What they say: “White House employees have every right to access the very systems they oversee,” Rep. Crane said in a press release. “President Trump campaigned on rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal government, and the American people gave him a mandate to do so. This is obviously judicial overreach and a clear threat to democracy.”
- Current status of legal case: Another district court judge extended Engelmayer’s block. The government is appealing the decision.
Judge: Amir Ali, D.C. District Court
- Nominated by: Joe Biden, Democrat
- Judge’s decision: Requiring USAID and the Department of State to pay foreign aid organizations for $2 billion worth of work they’d already performed under the Biden administration or earliest days of Trump, but which the Trump administration has opposed.
- House Republican filing impeachment: Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN5)
- Cosponsors: Two Republicans
- What they say: “Amir Ali is a woke political activist whose career has been built on attacking police, American culture, and accusing President Trump,” Rep. Ogles posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Impeaching him is a no-brainer.”
- Current status of legal case: The Supreme Court upheld Ali’s decision by 5-4. Conservatives Amy Coney Barrett and John Roberts sided with the court’s three usual liberals.
Judge: John James McConnell, Rhode Island District Court
- Nominated by: Barack Obama, Democrat
- Judge’s decision: Blocking an OMB (Office of Management and Budget) memo that would freeze most federal grants.
- House Republican filing impeachment: Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA9)
- Cosponsors: Nine Republicans
- What they say: “Judge McConnell… is attempting to unilaterally obstruct the president’s agenda and defy the will of the American people,” Rep. Clyde told Fox News Digital. “Judge McConnell’s actions are corrupt, dangerous, and worthy of impeachment."
- Current status of legal case: An appeals court upheld the decision by 3-0. All three judges were nominated by Democrats: David Barron by Obama, plus Lara Montecalvo and Julie Rikelman by Biden.
Judge: Theodore Chuang, Maryland District Court
- Nominated by: Barack Obama, Democrat
- Judge’s decision: Reinstating fired USAID employees and ruling USAID’s attempted shutdown as likely unconstitutional.
- House Republican filing impeachment: Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN5)
- Cosponsors: One Republican
- What they say: “Chuang’s latest stunt…is absurd. His deep Democrat ties, aligned with their woke pro-bureaucrat agenda, scream conflict of interest. He’s abusing his robe to thwart the people’s will,” Rep. Ogles posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Congress must act.”
- Current status of legal case: An appeals court stayed Chuang’s decision, essentially overturning it. Almost immediately after, the Department of State promptly officially shuttered USAID.
Context: Impeaching Judges
The House can impeach federal judges, prompting a Senate trial, which can convict and remove them from office, but it’s extremely rare. Throughout U.S. history, the House has impeached only 15 judges or justices, averaging not even once per decade.
Of those 15 House impeachments, eight were found guilty by the Senate and removed from office, four were found not guilty, and three resigned before their verdict came down. Virtually all of those impeachments occurred when a judge was accused of serious crimes.
For example, the House’s last judicial impeachment was a full 15 years ago: Thomas Porteous, a Louisiana lower court judge, was impeached for bribery and perjury in 2010. The Senate convicted him unanimously, removing him from office.
Even mere proposals to impeach judges or justices have been rare. For comparison, the entire 2023-24 Congress had only one judicial impeachment House resolution, from either party.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY14) tried to impeach Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for bribery after ProPublica reported that Thomas had failed to report expensive gifts from people with cases before the Supreme Court. The proposal never received a vote in the Republican-controlled chamber.
What Opponents Say
Obviously, Democrats oppose current Republican impeachment attempts. However, even many Republicans remain skeptical, including both the top House and Senate leaders.
“Impeachment is an extraordinary measure. We’re looking at all the alternatives that we have to address this problem,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA4) told reporters.
When it comes to controversial judicial rulings, “there’s an appeals process. And, you know, I suspect that’s ultimately how this will get handled,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) echoed.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts also rebuked Trump for his calls to impeach judges. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said in a statement. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
Odds of Passage
The House can impeach with a simple majority, but the Senate requires a two-thirds majority to convict and remove someone from office. While Republicans hold majorities in both chambers, they’re far short of two-thirds in the Senate.
Republican leaders, though no fans of these particular judicial decisions, are considering other remedies instead, which may be more likely to get enacted into law. One of their favored options is the No Rogue Rulings Act, introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA48), which would limit the ability of lower-court judges to issue such “nationwide” rulings in the first place.
Editorial cartoonist Chip Bok satirized this issue in a recent cartoon, depicting a judge dressed in a robe and seated at a bench, saying, “I’m a district judge…” only for the view to zoom out to the entire United States as the judge adds: “...and this is my district.”
Jesse Rifkin is a freelance journalist with the Fulcrum. Don’t miss his weekly report, Congress Bill Spotlight, every Friday on the Fulcrum. Rifkin’s writings about politics and Congress have been published in the Washington Post, Politico, Roll Call, Los Angeles Times, CNN Opinion, GovTrack, and USA Today.
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