A second federal judge is facing a long-shot bid by a Republican lawmaker to have him impeached as conservative members of the U.S. House of Representatives ramp up public criticism of judges who rule against U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda (article available here).
Republican U.S. Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee on Monday said he filed a resolution seeking to have a U.S. District Judge in Washington, D.C. nominated by former President George W. Bush, removed from office after he ordered the Trump administration to restore government health websites that were taken offline in response to an executive order requiring the removal of "gender ideology extremism."
The U.S. Constitution provides that the grounds for impeachment are treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
To remove a judge from office, the House must pass articles of impeachment by a simple majority vote and then the Senate must vote by at least a two-thirds majority to convict the judge. Republicans control both chambers of Congress but do not have a two-thirds majority in the Senate.
Another impeachment resolution was filed against a U.S. District Judge in Manhattan after he temporarily blocked the Department of Government Efficiency, the government cost-cutting team spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, from accessing U.S. Treasury Department systems responsible for trillions of dollars in payments.
The attacks against judges for their rulings and calls for impeachment have been sharply criticized by bar groups and law professors, who say the effort "smacks of intimidation."
The impeachment power has historically not been used to punish judges for unfavorable rulings. Only 15 federal judges have been impeached in Congress’ history, eight of whom the Senate has found guilty and removed from office. All of them were removed from office for various acts of misconduct—ranging from tax fraud to soliciting bribes—and none were for offenses related to an unfavorable ruling.