Chief Justice John Roberts: Impeachment 'not appropriate' for judges ruling against Trump

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare public statement on Tuesday declaring that the impeachment of federal judges is “not an appropriate response” to disagreement with their rulings. His statement came shortly after President Donald Trump called for a federal judge’s impeachment.

“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” said Roberts, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, without naming Trump. “Normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”

Chief Justice John Roberts, from front row left, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and in back row left, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, arrive before former President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP)

The statement comes just hours after Trump called for the impeachment of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, an appointee of former President Barack Obama who temporarily blocked the administration from deporting hundreds of Venezuelan nationals allegedly linked to the violent Tren de Aragua gang and MS-13. Two deportation flights had already left U.S. airspace when the ruling was issued.