U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts has firmly dismissed calls for the impeachment of judges, responding to a demand from President Donald Trump to remove a federal judge who ruled against his deportation plans.
Roberts’ rare public statement underscores growing tensions over the judiciary’s role in the ongoing legal battle surrounding Trump’s efforts to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members. The Supreme Court’s leader made clear that judicial decisions should not be met with impeachment threats.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
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The statement followed Trump’s social media attack on U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, whom he accused of being an unelected “troublemaker and agitator.” Boasberg had blocked deportation flights initiated under Trump’s invocation of an 18th-century wartime law.
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“HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”
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While Trump has frequently criticized the judiciary, his latest remarks escalate his ongoing conflict with the courts. Historically, judicial impeachment has been reserved for cases of serious ethical breaches or criminal misconduct rather than policy disputes.
Defending his stance, Trump claimed Boasberg had overstepped his authority by interfering with a presidential function.
“That’s a presidential job,” Trump asserted. “That’s not for a local judge to be making that determination.”
He stopped short of saying he would defy the court order but criticized what he described as “bad judges.”
“No, you can’t do that. However, we have bad judges,” Trump said. “At a certain point, you have to start looking at what do you do when you have a rogue judge.”
Roberts and Trump have reportedly had a shifting relationship over the years. In 2018, Roberts defended judicial independence after Trump referred to a judge who ruled against his asylum policy as an “Obama judge.” More recently, Roberts played a key role in a Supreme Court decision affirming broad presidential immunity, a ruling that helped Trump delay a criminal trial before his re-election.
The judiciary’s latest clash with Trump stems from his administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, historically invoked only during declared wars. Trump has cited an “invasion” by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to justify his actions, including paying El Salvador to imprison alleged gang members.
Boasberg, appointed by President Barack Obama, raised concerns over “possible defiance” of his ruling after two deportation flights continued to El Salvador despite his verbal order to halt them. The Justice Department, meanwhile, has moved to have Boasberg removed from the case.
With a slim Republican majority in the House, impeachment remains a possibility, though removal would require a two-thirds Senate vote. Trump’s demand also aligns him with allies such as Elon Musk, who has echoed calls for judicial removals.
Legal experts warn that such rhetoric threatens judicial independence.
“What we are seeing is an attempt by one branch of government to intimidate another branch from performing its constitutional duty. It is a direct threat to judicial independence,” said Marin Levy, a professor at Duke University School of Law.
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