House speaker wants to 'make an example of' federal judges by impeaching them

Some MAGA Republicans in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives are calling for articles of impeachment against federal judges who, they claim, are intruding on President Donald Trump's executive powers. And they are singling out U.S. District Judges James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman.

During a press conference on Wednesday, January 21, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) voiced his support for their efforts — mentioning Boasberg specifically.

Johnson told reporters, "I'm for it. Judge Boasberg is one who's been mentioned. And these are some egregious abuses…. Impeachment, as we have discussed all together many, many times, is an extreme measure. But extreme times call for extreme measures. And I think some of these judges have gotten so far outside the bounds of where they're supposed to operate, it would not be, in my view, a bad thing for Congress to lay down law, so to speak, and, you know, to make an example of some of these egregious abuses."

The Hill's Emily Brooks cites Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) as GOP lawmakers who are calling for articles of impeachment against federal judges.

"Cruz took issue with Boasberg issuing a nondisclosure order requiring that phone carriers keep secret for one-year subpoenas that were requested by former special counsel Jack Smith in his Arctic Frost investigation into 2020 election interference, which resulted in the Department of Justice obtaining phone records for several members of Congress," Brooks reports. "Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas), in March 2025, introduced articles of impeachment against Boasberg over his court decisions blocking Trump from deporting some migrants under the Alien Enemies Act, including an order that directed the government to turn around planes of migrants who were heading to El Salvador."

Brooks adds, "The resolution impeaching Boasberg for “abuse of power” has 23 co-sponsors…. Cruz also took issue with Boardman's sentencing decision for Sophie Roske, who was charged under birth name Nicholas Roske for traveling across the country with the intention of killing Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Boardman sentenced Roske to eight years in prison, far less than prosecutors' request of at least 30 years."

Read Emily Brooks' full article for The Hill at this link.