The Trump Administration is presently at war with judges, and beyond that, the very concept of an independent judiciary.
All White Houses lose in court sometimes, but it appears the Trump Administration is taking things further. Some supporters, including Elon Musk, regularly push for the impeachment of judges who go against the administration’s interests. It got to the point when, earlier this week, Chief Justice John Roberts issued a statement opposing the idea of impeaching judges.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,” Roberts said.
The question of which president appointed the judge—the subject of a different Roberts statement back during Trump’s first term in 2018—also came up in a White House briefing Wednesday. The press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, appeared to forget who appointed one judge.
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In response to NBC News reporter Garrett Haake’s question about deportation flights, Leavitt pushed back on a decision by a judge who had ruled against the administration’s position. Leavitt then went on to denounce the judge in the case as “an activist judge, who is trying to usurp the president’s authority… and this judge… is a Democrat activist; he has donated to Barack Obama.”
Haake went on to note that the judge, James Boasberg, was first appointed to the bench by George W. Bush, although Obama “elevated” him to a higher court.
Karoline Leavett was just humiliated on LIVE TV:
Leavitt: “The judge is a Democratic activist judge appointed by Barack Obama.”
Reporter: “He was originally appointed by George W. Bush.”
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) March 19, 2025
It’s not clear precisely what Leavitt is proposing- should only judges appointed by the current president get to rule on matters in which the current administration is a litigant? Wouldn’t those judges, by that standard, not be impartial either?
That’s what Chief Justice Roberts argued in that 2018 statement.
“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,” Roberts said back in 2018 after Trump denounced a different judge. “What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal rights to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”
Photo courtesy of the X screengrab
