SCOOP: White House backs impeaching 'rogue' judges accused of partisan rulings
FIRST ON FOX: The White House fully supports efforts on Capitol Hill to impeach federal judges who have gone "totally rogue" with partisan rulings, Fox News Digital learned.
A White House official told Fox News Digital that the administration is closely tracking the Senate Judiciary Committee’s impeachment inquiry involving U.S. District Judges James Boasberg, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and Deborah Boardman, of the U.S. District Court in Maryland, as Republican lawmakers openly discuss impeaching what they describe as "activist" judges.
"Left-wing, activist judges have gone totally rogue," a White House official told Fox News Digital. "They’re undermining the rule of law in service of their own radical agenda. It needs to stop. And the White House fully embraces impeachment efforts."
The White House official continued that President Donald Trump must be able to "lawfully implement the agenda the American people elected him on," arguing that judges who repeatedly issue partisan rulings have abused their offices and forfeited their claim to impartiality.
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Federal judges can be impeached when the House approves articles alleging misconduct or abuse of office, with removal certified after the Senate convicts by a two-thirds vote.
Boasberg has become a prime target for Republicans over a string of rulings tied to Trump-era immigration policies — including cases involving the transfer of migrants to El Salvador and other countries rather than holding them in U.S. detention.
More recently, he’s drawn fresh GOP backlash after reports surfaced that he approved warrants in former special counsel Jack Smith’s "Arctic Frost" probe that enabled investigators to seize phone records connected to some Republican lawmakers.
He first faced articles of impeachment in March 2025 for preventing the administration from deporting some illegal migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, and again in November over the Arctic Frost decision.
A White House official told Fox Digital that Boasberg has a history of issuing "plainly illegal" while pointing to the warrants and subpoenas he authorized in the Arctic Frost investigation.
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Boardman faces impeachment calls over her sentencing decision for a man found guilty of charges related to trying to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The man was sentenced to eight years when the recommended term was 30 years.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is among Republican lawmakers calling for Boasberg and Boardman to be impeached. He argued that they "meet the constitutional standard for impeachment" during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing earlier in January, calling both "rogue judges."
The White House argued that federal judges who develop a record of issuing rogue, plainly unlawful rulings to advance or undermine a political party forfeit their impartiality, abuse their authority and warrant impeachment.
Both judges have avoided commenting publicly on impeachment talk, declining a Senate invitation to testify Jan. 7.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson also threw his support behind impeaching "rogue" judges Wednesday.
"I think some of these judges have gotten so far outside the bounds of where they're supposed to operate," Johnson said during a weekly press conference. "It would not be, in my view, a bad thing for Congress to lay down the law."
The remarks are a departure from his comments in 2025, when he said impeachment was not a practical tool against judges seen as activists working against the Trump administration.
"Look, impeachments are never off the table if it's merited. But in our system — we've had 15 federal judges impeached in the entire history of the country — I mean, there may be some that I feel merit that, but you've got to get the votes for it. And it's a very high burden," Johnson said in May 2025.
"Frankly, the bar is high crimes and misdemeanors. I mean, the last federal judge impeached, I think was caught … taking cash in an envelope. You know, it's got to be a pretty brazen offense or a real open crime that everybody could agree to."
Democrats have pushed against Republican calls for impeachment, including Senate Judiciary Committee member Sheldon Whitehouse responding to Cruz's comments on potentially impeaching the judges in a letter to Johnson Wednesday.
"The pattern is clear: judges rule against the Administration; the President or his allies attack and spread misinformation; judges and their families receive threats, ‘swatting’ attempts, and threatening stunts like pizzas in the name of a federal judge’s murdered son. DOJ has repeatedly refused to assure us that they are investigating the pattern of threats for possible orchestration. Baseless calls for impeachment in this threat environment only add to the dangers facing these judges and their loved ones," Whitehouse wrote in his letter to Johnson.