The Trump administration is calling for the impeachment of the judge who ordered a temporary halt to the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members. While the battle seems unlikely to succeed in Trump’s favor, House Speaker Mike Johnson could have a few options to deal with the controversial situation and appease the president even if the judge is not removed from his post in the end.
Without explicitly naming James Boasberg, the chief judge of the district court of Washington, D.C., Trump said “this judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” He also called Boasberg a “Radical Left Lunatic of a judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama.”
Boasberg on Saturday halted Trump’s deportation order for two weeks after the president, in a highly controversial move, used the 1798 Enemy Aliens Act, a law not used since World War II, to deport the alleged gang members. The administration moved forward anyway, arguing the flights had departed by the time the order was issued.
Since then, an avalanche of fierce Trump-allies have called for his impeachment, and a Republican lawmaker effectively introduced articles of impeachment. But while an actual impeachment may be unlikely, Speaker Johnson could have options to appease Trump if Republicans in Congress do ultimately force a vote on the matter in the coming weeks, founder of Punchbowl News, Jake Sherman explained on X.
The first option would be to “refer” the vote, Sherman said. With this move, House leadership would send the impeachment resolution to the House Judiciary Committee. The panel would then hold hearings on the measure and decide whether Boasberg has, in fact, committed high crimes and misdemeanors.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) seems to be open to this option, not completely ruling out the possibility of Boasberg’s impeachment.
“Everything is on the table. We’re considering all options. That’s why we passed legislation,” Jordan said. “There may be a legislative— another legislative remedy we want to look at.”
A second option for Johnson would be to table the measure, Sherman added. That option would be politically charged, as the vote requires a simple majority.
“It essentially forces lawmakers to cast a vote on whether they should dispense with impeachment proceedings,” Sherman writes. “The House may table it, but this isn’t a preferred option in the GOP leadership. A vote to table would be seen as a vote against Trump for any Republican moderates.”
A third and final option would be to “roll the dice,” the journalist says.
“Johnson could let a vote happen without any motion to delay. The House would likely reject impeachment and it would divide the Republican conference,” he predicts.
House Republicans are already moving to impeach Boasberg. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) introduced a resolution to impeach Boasberg this week, and several other GOP members have introduced impeachment resolutions against other judges who blocked other Trump administration actions.
Rep. Jordan also pointed to a bill, the No Rogue Rulings Act, that would place limitations on district court judges issuing orders providing injunctive relief decisions that affect the entire country outside their districts. That bill advanced out of the Judiciary Committee after a markup earlier this month.
Originally published on Latin Times
