Chief Justice John Roberts is pushing back against President Donald Trump’s call to impeach judges who’ve ruled against the administration.
“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 Tuesday in a rare and brief statement issued just hours after Trump publicly joined demands by his supporters to remove judges he called “crooked.”
Intense Conflict Between Trump and Roberts
It’s the most intense public conflict between Trump and Roberts since 2018, when the chief justice came to the defense of federal judges who’d ruled against Trump policies.
Trump’s call to remove judges from the bench came after his allies amplified attacks on U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, following an order the judge issued to turn around aircraft deporting alleged gang members to Venezuela. The planes continued to their destinations, but the administration has insisted it did not defy the judge’s directive.
