A House Republican lawmaker has introduced articles of impeachment against the federal judge who blocked the Trump administration’s deportation flights conducted under the Alien Enemies Act, Fox News reported exclusively on Monday.
“For the past several weeks, we’ve seen several rogue activist judges try to impede the president from exercising, not only the mandate voters gave him, but his democratic and constitutional authority to keep the American people safe,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “This is another example of a rogue judge overstepping his…authority.”
Gill’s resolution accuses U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg of abusing his authority by imposing an emergency halt on the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants under a wartime power established in 1798. President Donald Trump recently invoked the law to remove members of the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua from the U.S.
“Chief Judge Boasberg required President Trump to turn around planes midair that had aliens associated with Tren De Aragua, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” the resolution said. “This conduct jeopardizes the safety of the nation, represents an abuse of judicial power, and is detrimental to the orderly functioning of the judiciary. Using the powers of his office, Chief Judge Boasberg has attempted to seize power from the Executive Branch and interfere with the will of the American people.”
In a brief interview with Fox News Digital just before filing his resolution, Gill indicated that he preferred the matter to proceed through the House in the traditional process—starting with a review by the House Judiciary Committee, where he serves as a member.
“I’ll be talking to [Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio] about it,” Gill said. “I think the best way to do this…is to go through the judiciary committee, which is where impeachment of judges runs through. I think the more we can stick with that plan, the better.”
A legal battle is intensifying after Judge Boasberg verbally issued a 14-day restraining order on Saturday night, blocking the Trump administration’s plan to deport members of Tren de Aragua. The ruling came in response to arguments from human rights groups, who claim that Venezuelan nationals with legitimate asylum claims could be wrongfully deported despite having no known ties to the notorious gang.
The Texas Republican, who serves as class president for first-term members in the 119th Congress, initially threatened to file articles of impeachment against Boasberg on Sunday. Trump endorsed the effort on Tuesday morning with a fiery post on his Truth Social account.
Trump called him a “Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator,” adding, “HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY.”
“I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump wrote.
Gill claimed that Boasberg was knowingly “tying the president’s hands so that Trump and his team, instead of executing on the mandate the voters gave him, are litigating every single action that the president is taking.” He said it was “unconstitutional” and a “usurpation of executive authority.”
The Trump administration has pointed out that the judge’s written order was issued after two planes carrying alleged gang members were already in the air, arguing it was too late to turn the planes around at that point. A third plane that took off after the first two was not carrying any Alien Enemies Act deportees, the administration said.
“All of the planes that were subject to the written order, the judge’s written order, took off before the order was entered in the courtroom on Saturday,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday, adding that the White House did not defy any order.
However, later in the day, the judge pushed back during a hearing in his courtroom, per The Associated Press, saying to the U.S. attorney for the administration, “I’m just asking how you think my equitable powers do not attach to a plane that has departed the U.S., even if it’s in international airspace.”