How are federal judges removed? What to know as Trump calls for one to be impeached

President Donald Trump called for the impeachment of a federal judge who recently ruled against his administration. How would that process work?

“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President,” Trump wrote in a March 18 post on Truth Social, apparently in reference to James Boasberg, the chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump said.

This directive came three days after Boasberg ordered the administration to halt deportations of Venezuelan nationals, which were being carried out under the seldom used Alien Enemies Act of 1798, according to the Associated Press. During a subsequent hearing, the judge questioned whether the White House had violated his orders.

Shortly after Trump posted his message, House Republicans drafted articles of impeachment against Boasberg.

The president’s attacks on Boasberg also prompted a rare response from Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, who said in a statement, “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.”

Here is how the impeachment process works for federal judges.

How does impeachment work for federal judges?

Members of the federal judiciary are subject to the same impeachment procedures as the president.

As is outlined in Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution, the House of Representatives holds the authority to impeach, and the Senate has the power to determine — through a trial — whether to convict, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit legal institute.

“Impeachment requires a majority vote in the House. Conviction requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate,” Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the U.C. Berkeley School of Law, told McClatchy News.

If convicted in the Senate, a federal judge would be removed from office.

What are the grounds for impeachment?

Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution states that members of the federal judiciary can be impeached and convicted for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” including bribery and treason.

“Hence the grounds for impeachment are the same as for a President and set a fairly high bar,” Bernadette Meyler, a professor of constitutional law at Stanford Law School, told McClatchy News.

“Obviously, that has not occurred here,” Chemerinsky said, referencing Boasberg’s ruling against the administration’s deportation actions.

As Chief Justice Roberts noted in his statement, the normal process for parties who disagree with a judge’s ruling is to appeal, in which the case would be taken to a higher court for review.

How common is impeachment?

Throughout U.S. history, only 15 federal judges have been impeached, eight of whom were then convicted in the Senate, according to the Federal Judicial Center, a government agency.

“Virtually all” of these impeachment proceedings resulted from charges of corruption and not as a result of judges’ rulings, Chemerinsky said.

One of the first cases was brought against Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase in 1804.

The effort came about partly because of partisanship as Chase “was a staunch federalist,” Meyler said.

The House voted for him to be impeached, but the Senate did not vote to convict him.

“This precedent set a very high bar for judicial impeachment and Chase remains the only Supreme Court justice who has ever been impeached,” Meyler said.

In the 21st century, just two federal judges have been impeached.

In 2009, the House voted to impeach Samuel Kent, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, following charges of making false statements and sexual assault. Kent resigned from office, and the Senate did not pursue conviction.

And in 2010, the House impeached G. Thomas Porteous, Jr., a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, who was charged with bribery and making false statements. He was convicted in the Senate and removed from his position.

Boasberg stands out in contrast to these individuals, experts said.

“Judge Boasberg is an extremely well regarded jurist, who has been entrusted with many sensitive national security matters in his position on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (appointed by Chief Justice Roberts),” Meyler said. “The administration’s accusations and threats against him are truly outrageous.”

This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 3:12 PM with the headline "How are federal judges removed? What to know as Trump calls for one to be impeached."