Escalating Trump’s War on Judiciary, GOP Senators Ask DC Circuit to Suspend Judge Boasberg

Ratcheting up President Donald Trump’s assault on the judiciary, a group of Republican senators Monday asked an appeals court to suspend Chief Judge James Boasberg, who initiated potential contempt proceedings against Trump administration officials in April.

The request comes just days before Boasberg is set to consider going forward with investigating whether Trump administration officials willfully violated a court order barring them from removing hundreds of people to a notorious prison in El Salvador using an 18th century wartime law.

Led by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), a staunch ally of Trump, the senators asked D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan to sideline Boasberg because Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) filed articles of impeachment against him earlier in this month.

Schmitt and Republican Sens. Mike Lee (Utah), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) asked for Boasberg’s suspension even though there are no active impeachment proceedings against the judge.

In a press release announcing the letter, Schmitt claimed Boasberg should be removed for “abusing his judicial authority to target the Trump administration, sitting Republican Senators, and conservative organizations.”

The letter marks the GOP’s latest effort to undermine the judiciary’s independence and to intimidate judges who rule against Trump or attempt to hold those who violate court orders accountable.

Trump and his allies’ alarming use of impeachment threats against federal judges reached such a pitch earlier this year that Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement condemning the tactic.

In July, Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a misconduct complaint against Boasberg. She claimed he “undermined the integrity of the judiciary” by telling Roberts in a private judicial conference earlier this year that several federal judges feared that the Trump administration could ignite a constitutional crisis by disregarding court rulings.

In an official statement published on the DOJ’s website, Bondi also accused Boasberg of supporting terrorism by blocking Trump’s effort to use the Alien Enemies Act to remove people from the U.S. and place them in foreign prisons without accusing them of a crime or granting them due process.

Boasberg was appointed to the D.C. District Court by former President Barack Obama, though he was previously appointed to D.C. Superior Court by former President George W. Bush.