Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday issued a rare statement on current events, rejecting calls to impeach judges after they issue unpopular or controversial rulings.
“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.
His statement came hours after President Donald Trump called for the impeachment of “crooked judges” who have been ruling against him, including U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who is overseeing the deportation cases involving the Alien Enemies Act that are dominating the news this week.
“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump wrote on social media, per NBC News.
Roberts' statement on impeachment will likely further escalate tensions between the Trump administration and the judicial branch, which have ratcheted up repeatedly over the past two months as the administration has navigated dozens of lawsuits over executive orders.
Most of those cases have not yet made it to the Supreme Court for review, but the high court did rule against Trump on March 5 in a case dealing with $2 billion in foreign-aid reimbursements.
Roberts and Trump-appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined with the Supreme Court’s three more liberal justices in that decision, prompting intense criticism of Barrett, in particular, from Trump’s supporters.
Then and again on Tuesday after Roberts issued his statement, social media sites like X were abuzz with debate about what it takes to impeach a Supreme Court justice.