WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for the impeachment of a federal judge who ordered a pause in his efforts to use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport migrants the White House says are affiliated with a Venezuelan gang. 

In a rare statement Tuesday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts referred to such calls as "not an appropriate response."

“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.”

What You Need To Know

  • President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for the federal judge who ordered a pause in his efforts to use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport migrants the White House says are affiliated with a Venezuelan gang to be impeached
  • It follows an apparent growing trend among Republican lawmakers and the president’s allies demanding the ousting of judges ruling on actions taken by the Trump administration that have reached new heights amid this latest deportation fight
  • In a rare statement to the Associated Press and other outlets on Tuesday, the Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts referred to such calls as "not an appropriate response"
  • The call from Trump came less than 24 hours after Boasberg in a Monday night hearing demanded the administration provide more information on the flight times of planes which were carrying the migrants took off from the U.S. and landed in El Salvador

Trump's impeachment call follows a growing trend of Republican lawmakers and the president’s allies demanding that judges who have ruled against the Trump administation be ousted. 

“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY.”

The president pointed to the judge, James E. Boasberg — who Trump did not reference by name but noted was appointed to the federal bench by former President Barack Obama — not being elected by the American people. By contrast, Trump sought to make the case that in invoking the wartime authority to remove the migrants from the country, he was carrying out actions the American public elected him to do. 

The post came less than 24 hours after Boasberg in a Monday night hearing demanded the administration provide more information on the times when flights carrying the migrants took off from the U.S. and landed in El Salvador, where the White House said it is paying about $6 million for them to be held in jail. 

The White House is insisting it did not defy Boasberg’s Saturday written order for the administration to pause the deportations of such people for 14 days as the legality of Trump using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act — which has only been used three times before in history and previously only during times of war — was assessed, even as it touted the arrival of more than 200 migrants in El Salvador on Sunday. On Monday, however, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to draw a distinction between the written order and Boasberg’s verbal order Saturday for any planes carrying migrants as part of the effort to return to the U.S. 

The president’s call for Boasberg’s impeachment builds on days of outrage expressed by some Republicans and Trump allies against the judge. 

“Another day, another judge unilaterally deciding policy for the whole country,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, wrote in a post on X on Sunday. Grassley added that the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, which he chairs, is “taking action.” 

GOP Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas moved swiftly over the weekend to declare that he would be filing articles of impeachment against the judge, reiterating his intention Tuesday in response to Trump’s Truth Social post. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., on Tuesday doubled down on the effort. 

Billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk reposted Gill’s call for articles to be introduced and wrote “Necessary.” 

Musk — who is spearheading the president’s wide-scale government downsizing effort under a campaign called the U.S. DOGE Service — has become one of the most vocal Trump allies when it comes to calling for the impeachment of federal judges.

In the last few weeks, as many of DOGE’s actions have faced pushback in court, Musk has at times flooded his X page with his desire for judges to be ousted — sometimes singling out specific officials and at one point requesting “an immediate wave of judicial impeachments.”

Several Republican members of Congress have followed suit since Trump has retaken the White House, with a GOP lawmaker introducing articles of impeachment against two separate judges after they issued rulings unfavorable to the administration.

The uptick in demands for the removal of judges led the American Bar Association earlier this month to warn of a “clear and disconcerting pattern” bubbling over. 

“If a court issues a decision this administration does not agree with, the judge is targeted,” the ABA wrote in a statement, going on to note that “High-ranking government officials,” both appointed and elected, have made “repeated calls for the impeachment of judges who issue opinions with which the government does not agree.”

Impeachment of federal judges is rare in history and in the past have focused on issues such as bribery, perjury and tax fraud rather than their decision-making in the courtroom. Only 15 federal judges have been impeached, according to the Federal Judicial Center, with just eight being convicted. Four were acquitted while the remaining three resigned from office before a decision was reached. 

To convict a federal judge, the effort would have to get the approval of a majority of members in the House and two-thirds of members in the Senate.