On Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) declined to rule out impeaching federal judges in this session of Congress, although he emphasized the “very high burden” required for such a significant course of action.
Johnson clarified his position as House GOP leadership has faced pressure from some Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump, who have pushed for impeaching or otherwise trying to remove judges who have ruled against the current administration’s policies over the view that they are acting as leftist activists.
“Look, impeachments are never off the table if it’s merited. But in our system, we’ve had 15 federal judges impeached in the entire history of the country,” Johnson said in response to a reporter’s question during a press conference on Capitol Hill. “I mean, there may be some that I feel merit that, but you’ve got to get the votes for it, right? And it’s a very high burden. And, frankly, the bar is high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Q: “Are judicial impeachments off the table for the rest of this Congress?”
.@SpeakerJohnson: “No. Impeachments are never off the table if it’s merited.” pic.twitter.com/FSYwxzIjXF
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 6, 2025
Johnson noted how difficult it would be for the Senate to agree on conviction — which would result in removal from office — given that it requires a two-thirds majority. Republicans have only a slim, 53-seat majority in the upper chamber, and Democrats and the independents who caucus with them likely would oppose any such effort.
“Even if we could get an impeachment article through the House on a federal judge, it’s unlikely that they would be tried and convicted in the Senate on that, with the divided number we have,” he said. “So, short of that, what can we do?”
Johnson highlighted legislation from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), which aims to restrict federal judges from issuing nationwide injunctions, as a means to curb judicial activism or venue shopping. The bill, named the “No Rogue Rulings Act,” passed through the House last month, but has yet to be taken up by the Senate.
“Darrell Issa’s bill is a great response. The ‘No Rogue Rulings Act’ would prohibit a single individual judgment issuing a nationwide injunction like that to stop the entire policy of an administration,” Johnson said. “We passed it through the House, we sent it to the Senate with every expectation that they should be able to take that up. And I certainly hope they can, because, again, shouldn’t be a partisan issue.”
