Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) introduced a resolution to impeach U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who over the weekend ordered the Trump administration to halt deportations of Venezuelans whom it said were gang members.

The move comes as President Trump is also calling for Boasberg’s impeachment, as the administration argues that his ruling, blocking Trump from invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to swiftly deport the migrants, was not lawful.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday pushed back at that statement, saying it had been established that “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”

Gill’s impeachment article introduced Tuesday charges that Boasberg abused power “to advance political gain while interfering with the President’s constitutional prerogatives and enforcement of the rule of law” with the ruling, adding that he “attempted to seize power from the Executive branch and interfere with the will of the American people.”

“By making a political decision outside the scope of his judicial duties, he compromised the impartiality of our judicial system and created a constitutional crisis,” the article states.

Boasberg had told the Trump administration that any flights with the Venezuelan migrants that had already departed should turn around and return to the U.S., but the White House has been accused of defying that order by not turning already departed flights around. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on the social platform X that the judge’s order had “no lawful basis” because the migrants had already been removed from the U.S., adding: “Federal courts generally have no jurisdiction over the President’s conduct of foreign affairs, his authorities under the Alien Enemies Act, and his core Article II powers to remove foreign alien terrorists from U.S. soil and repel a declared invasion.”

While Gill said in a post on X that the judge “is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors and should be removed from office,” it is highly unlikely that the impeachment resolution results in that outcome.

Even if it was brought for a vote in the House and passed by the narrow House majority, conviction in the Senate would require support from more than a dozen Democrats.

Still, Trump on Tuesday specifically called for Boasberg’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!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The rare public statement from Roberts was an apparent response to Trump and other calls for the impeachment of judges.

“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.

Gill’s impeachment articles are part of a wave of impeachment articles filed by House Republicans in recent weeks against judges who have blocked Trump administration actions, including those made by the Department of Government Efficiency, leading to tech billionaire Elon Musk calling for a “wave of judicial impeachments.”

Reps. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) and Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) are all leading impeachment efforts against other judges.

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