House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday that he could support efforts to impeach federal judges who have moved to block President Donald Trump’s agenda—marking a sharper stance than House GOP leaders signaled last year.
Johnson stressed that impeachment remains an “extreme measure,” but argued the current moment may warrant it. “Extreme times call for extreme measures,” he told reporters during his weekly press conference.
“I think some of these judges have gotten so far outside the bounds of where they’re supposed to operate,” Johnson said. “It would not be, in my view, a bad thing for Congress to lay down the law.”
His comments come as some Republicans in both chambers push impeachment efforts targeting U.S. District Judges James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, labeled the two “rogue judges” earlier this month and said they “meet the constitutional standard for impeachment” during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing.
When asked directly about the push, Johnson said, “I’m for it,” adding that Boasberg is among those being discussed and describing the situation as involving “some egregious abuses.”
Boasberg has drawn criticism from Republicans over rulings tied to major immigration cases involving Trump-era policies, including decisions related to flying migrants to El Salvador and other countries rather than detaining them in the United States.
More recently, Republicans pointed to reporting that Boasberg had signed warrants allowing the seizure of some Republican lawmakers’ phone records in former special counsel Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost probe.
Cruz has also called for Boardman’s impeachment over her sentencing decision in a case involving a man convicted on charges connected to an attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Cruz argued the sentence—97 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release—fell well below recommended sentencing guidelines.
Johnson’s remarks represent a notable shift in tone from last year, when he described impeachment as an impractical route, even while noting it was not categorically off the table. At the time, House Republicans backed a different approach, passing legislation aimed at limiting judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions.
In May 2025, Johnson emphasized the historical rarity and high threshold for judicial impeachment, noting that only 15 federal judges have been impeached in U.S. history. “Frankly, the bar is high crimes and misdemeanors,” he said, arguing that it generally requires a clear, broadly recognized offense to succeed.
