The threat environment for federal judges is pretty awful right about now. For federal judges — ones appointed by Democrats and Republicans alike — who have presented speed bumps to Donald Trump‘s authoritarian takeover, the GOP responded with name-calling and articles of impeachment. And House Speaker Mike Johnson just poured gasoline on the fire.
Despite previously putting the pause on impeachment talk around judges who rule against the Trump administration, last week Johnson changed his tune. When asked about impeachment efforts against judges, he didn’t even pretend this was a bad idea in theory but impractical in reality. He said, plainly, “I’m for it.”
To be sure, Johnson offered a little in the way of throat-clearing. Impeachment would be “an extreme measure,” he acknowledged, adding “we’ll see where it goes.” Seems like that whole we-don’t-have-67-votes issue is rearing its head.
But then he doubled down, suggesting that some judges have strayed “so far outside the bounds of where they’re supposed to operate” that Congress should “lay down the law” and “make an example of some of the egregious abuses.”
That rhetoric might play well on right-wing cable news, but it’s also profoundly dangerous. There’s a sharp increase in threats against federal judges — up 327% in the Trump II era. Bullying judges has become a mainstream tactic that Johnson is playing into, floating impeachment casually and often without any plausible allegation of impeachable conduct. That casualness is precisely the problem. When leaders normalize the idea that judges should fear reprisal for doing their jobs, the most unhinged actors hear permission, not caution.
And that is what’s happening. The relevant backdrop against which the Speaker of the House is publicly endorsing impeachment as a response to unfavorable rulings is a spike in death threats, a record numbers of investigations by the U.S. Marshals, increased security, and judges with a genuine fear for themselves and their families.
Impeachment is not a tool for correcting legal error. It is not a substitute for appellate review. But we have the Speaker of the House publicly musing about “making an example” of judges. Threatening impeachment because you don’t like the outcome is intimidation, and it’s a warped view of accountability to suggest otherwise.
This is the modern GOP game plan. Sustained pressure. Delegitimization. The steady drumbeat of consequences for disobedience. And powerful politicians arguing that judges who rule the “wrong” way deserve what’s coming.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post As Judicial Threats Spike, Mike Johnson Talks About ‘Making An Example’ Of Them appeared first on Above the Law.