Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, SUPREME COURT NEWS—Chief Justice issues brief, pointed statement in response to Trump’s social media ‘impeachment’ comments, (Mar 19, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”

On the morning of March 18, 2025, on a social media platform, President Trump posted:

• “This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President - He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY. I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Chief Justice’s statement. A few hours after Trump called for the impeachment of the federal district court judge, a member of the judicial branch who over the weekend had ruled against the administration in the ongoing, high-profile deportation case, J.G.G. v. Trump, Chief Justice John Roberts issued this statement:

“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.”

Commentators have been quick to note that this is not the first time that Roberts has responded to Trump’s attacks against the judiciary—noting an exchange that took place in 2018 over “Obama judges” and “Trump judges.”

Year-end report. And, of course, the upcoming clashes between the two branches were predicted by the Chief Justice in his year-end report for 2024, in which he explained that “[j]udicial review makes tensions between the branches unavoidable” and noted that “[p]ublic officials... regrettably have engaged in recent attempts to intimidate judges—for example, suggesting political bias in the judge’s adverse rulings without a credible basis for such allegations.” Roberts also noted: “Unfortunately, not all actors engage in ‘informed criticism’ or anything remotely resembling it.” He also warned: “The final threat to judicial independence is defiance of judgments lawfully entered by courts of competent jurisdiction.”

News: SupremeCourtNews WhiteHouseNews LitigationNewsTrends