Special Poll
Senate Republicans are signaling they want no part of escalating efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to target federal judges, pushing back firmly against growing calls to impeach U.S. District Judge James Boasberg or defund courts that don’t align with Trump’s agenda.
Several senior GOP senators are warning that any impeachment attempt against Boasberg who recently ruled against Trump’s attempt to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members without due process would be dead on arrival in the Senate. They’re also rejecting a separate idea floated by House Speaker Mike Johnson to strip funding from courts that rule against Trump.
The move to impeach Boasberg, led by Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas), has already gained 22 Republican co-sponsors in the House. The resolution accuses the judge of “abuse of power,” but Senate Republicans are making clear they won’t entertain it.
Even more controversial is Johnson’s suggestion that courts that rule against Trump could simply be eliminated altogether a notion that Senate Republicans are distancing themselves from entirely. They argue that such moves would dangerously undermine the independence of the judiciary.
Judge Boasberg, who is now also presiding over a lawsuit related to senior Trump officials using the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss sensitive government operations, was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2011 by a 96-0 vote in the Senate. That vote included support from current Republicans such as Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), John Cornyn (Texas), Susan Collins (Maine), and John Thune (S.D.), now the Senate Majority Leader.
While the Senate has grown more partisan over the past decade, many Republicans still see themselves as guardians of the federal judiciary and are wary of any effort to politicize it further. Behind closed doors, several GOP senators have expressed concern that Trump’s public attacks on judges and the eagerness of some House Republicans to follow suit. could do lasting damage to the credibility of the courts.
Trump began targeting Boasberg after the judge ruled the president could not invoke a centuries-old law to conduct mass deportations without hearings. The ruling frustrated Trump, who then called for Boasberg’s impeachment a move many see as an attempt to intimidate the judiciary.
But the pushback from Senate Republicans is the clearest signal yet that there are limits to how far they are willing to go in defending Trump’s legal and political battles. For now, they appear determined to rein in efforts that could erode judicial independence, even if it means breaking ranks with the former president.
The divide highlights a growing tension within the Republican Party between Trump-aligned House members willing to challenge the foundations of the judicial system and more institutional-minded Senate Republicans who want to preserve the integrity of the courts even when rulings don’t go their way.