Roberts issues rare public pushback after Trump calls for judge’s impeachment

Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare public statement Tuesday pushing back after President Trump called to impeach a federal judge that ruled against his administration in a high-profile deportation case. 

“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,” Roberts said.

The chief justice’s statement came hours after Trump called for impeaching U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an appointee of former President Obama who blocked Trump invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to swiftly deport Venezuelan migrants the administration has labeled as gang members.

The plaintiffs have questioned whether Trump officials complied with the judge’s Saturday order to turn any planes around, sparking a remarkable battle between the administration and the judiciary.

“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President – He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

The president went on to explicitly call for the judge’s impeachment. 

“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” the president wrote. 

Trump has long attacked judges whom he perceives as his enemies, but Tuesday’s comments mark some of his sharpest yet since returning to the White House for a second term.

Roberts’s pushback, which did not name the president, echoes a statement the chief justice issued in 2018 after Trump denounced a judge who ruled against one of his immigration policies as a biased, “Obama judge.”

“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them,” Roberts said at the time.

As Trump again attacks judges he views as unfavorable, Republican lawmakers have aimed to impeach Boasberg and several other judges who have blocked Trump administration policies.

“This isn’t a disagreement concerning a judicial decision — this is a full-on, broad-based effort of radical judges to stop President Trump and the mandate he received from the American people to carry out his agenda,” Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), one of the lawmakers who has introduced impeachment articles, said in response to Roberts’s statement.

Emily Brooks contributed.

Updated at 12:35 p.m. EDT