The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court appears to have finally lost patience with the American president’s attacks on the judicial system.
John Roberts condemned the calls made by Donald Trump and his supporters to impeach judges who have issued rulings unfavorable to his administration.
In a rare public statement, Roberts defended the independence of the judiciary and reminded that impeachment should not be used as a tool to contest judicial decisions.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to a disagreement over a judicial decision,” Roberts said on Tuesday. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
His remarks follow Trump’s attacks on federal judge James Boasberg, who temporarily halted the deportation of Venezuelan migrants based on a rarely used 18th-century law, the Alien Enemies Act.
Trump sharply criticized Boasberg on social media, calling him a “troublemaker and agitator disgracefully appointed by Barack Hussein Obama.” The former president added: “I am only doing what the VOTERS asked me to do. This judge, like many other ‘corrupt judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!”
Despite Boasberg’s ruling, the Trump administration proceeded with the deportation of over 250 migrants to a prison in El Salvador last weekend.
This confrontation between the judiciary and the executive branch is fueling constitutional tensions over Trump’s controversial decisions.
For several weeks, his supporters, including Elon Musk, have been calling for the impeachment of judges who have blocked the administration’s policies.
John Roberts’ intervention signals a willingness from the head of the nation’s highest court to resist Donald Trump’s assaults on the judicial system.
