Republican lawmakers have officially moved to impeach U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, accusing him of weaponizing his judicial authority against conservatives and enabling unlawful surveillance of sitting senators during the Biden administration’s Justice Department investigations.
The move marks one of the most aggressive challenges to the federal judiciary in recent history.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) was among the first to demand action against Boasberg after revelations that the judge approved subpoenas for nine Republican senators’ phone records as part of the FBI’s “Arctic Frost” operation.
“I am right now calling on the House of Representatives to impeach Judge Boasberg,” Cruz declared during a recent Senate Judiciary Committee press conference, calling him a “radical leftist judge who is out of control.”
Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R) confirmed that her phone data was among those obtained and said she had asked Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to summon Boasberg for testimony, The Western Journal reports.
The pressure campaign from Cruz and Blackburn quickly gained traction in the House. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) announced Tuesday that he had formally filed articles of impeachment against Boasberg, accusing the judge of violating the separation of powers and eroding trust in the judiciary.
“Judge Boasberg is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, is unfit for office, and should be impeached,” Gill wrote on X.
According to Gill, Boasberg’s actions reflect a “gross violation of the separation of powers,” alleging that the judge signed gag orders preventing telecommunications companies from notifying lawmakers that their records were seized.
“Judge Boasberg abused his power by weaponizing the judiciary against critics of the Biden Administration,” Gill said, calling his conduct “egregiously improper” and “a betrayal of judicial impartiality.”
The impeachment resolution accuses Boasberg of one count of abuse of power, citing his approval of nondisclosure orders and investigative tactics used in the Arctic Frost probe.
According to RedState, the measure claims these efforts targeted members of Congress “acting in accord with their legislative duties and privileges guaranteed by Article 1, Section 6, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution.”
Boasberg, appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2011, currently serves as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia—a position he assumed in March 2023.
His role in approving subpoenas tied to Arctic Frost has placed him at the center of Republican criticism over what they describe as politically motivated federal overreach.
This isn’t Gill’s first attempt to remove Boasberg from the bench.
Earlier this year, the Texas congressman filed similar charges after Boasberg ordered deportation flights carrying Venezuelan gang members from the Tren de Aragua criminal network to return to U.S. soil—a ruling later overturned by a federal appeals court.
Judge Neomi Rao, writing for the court, criticized Boasberg’s “abuse of the contempt power” and warned that his actions carried serious “separation of powers overtones.”
If advanced, the impeachment resolution would undergo committee review before a House vote and possible Senate trial.
Such proceedings are exceedingly rare: only fifteen federal judges have been impeached since 1803, and just eight have ever been convicted.
