House Republicans introduced multiple impeachment resolutions this month targeting two federal judges appointed by former President Barack Obama .
Representative Greg Steube, a Republican from Florida, filed a resolution on June 9 to impeach John McConnell Jr., the chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, over a ruling that struck down a Trump administration immigration policy framework.
Four days earlier, on June 5, McConnell vacated a policy adopted by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services that paused asylum applications and pending immigration benefit requests for individuals from countries the administration deemed high-risk. Steube's resolution accused McConnell of dismissing the executive branch's national security justifications as pretextual and placing "the interests of noncitizens seeking immigration benefits above the national security of the United States."
Steube did not respond to a request for comment.
McConnell was nominated to the federal bench by Obama in 2011. A separate resolution, H. Res. 241, was introduced against him in March 2025, accusing him of abusing his judicial position to advance his personal political views.
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Georgia Republicans Move to Impeach Judge Over Courthouse Misconduct
Two Georgia Republicans filed impeachment resolutions targeting Judge Eleanor Ross of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia following a federal judicial misconduct investigation.
Representative Clay Fuller filed his resolution on June 8. Representative Andrew Clyde followed a day later. Clyde's resolution has 14 co-sponsors. Neither Fuller nor Clyde responded to requests for comment.
The resolutions stem from an investigation by the Judicial Council of the Eleventh Circuit, which found that Ross had engaged in a sexual relationship with Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Kelley Collier inside her courthouse chambers during business hours, attended a partisan political event and was not truthful when initially questioned about the conduct by Eleventh Circuit Chief Judge William Pryor.
Ross later acknowledged the relationship but disputed some aspects of the complaints, according to records reviewed by the Associated Press. A person answering the phone in Ross's chambers said the judge had no comment.
What the Misconduct Investigation Found
The inquiry began after a law clerk in Ross's office filed a complaint. Investigators reviewed witness accounts, building access records and security footage. The special committee found Ross had engaged in misconduct and issued its report to the Judicial Council, which issued a private reprimand. The judicial council barred her from serving as chief judge and from serving on any Judicial Conference committees. She remains an active federal judge.
The Atlanta Police Department has opened a separate inquiry to determine whether the officer identified in the investigation is one of its employees.
Ross was nominated to the Northern District of Georgia by Obama in 2014 and confirmed by the Senate later that year. Before joining the federal bench, she served as a DeKalb County state court judge and spent more than a decade as a state and federal prosecutor in Atlanta.
Resolutions Head to House Judiciary Committee
The three resolutions were referred to the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio. Fuller said he coordinated with Jordan's office in drafting his resolution. Jordan did not respond to a request for comment.
Under the Constitution, federal judges hold lifetime appointments and can only be removed through impeachment by the House and conviction by a two-thirds vote in the Senate. In United States history, only 15 federal judges have ever been impeached, with just eight convicted.
A Broader Republican Push Against the Federal Bench
Republicans have filed impeachment resolutions this Congress against multiple federal judges over rulings against the Trump administration's immigration and law enforcement agenda. Judge James Boasberg, the chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, has faced multiple impeachment resolutions since March 2025 after he temporarily blocked deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act.
In February, Bloomberg Law reported that a Trump Justice Department official solicited examples of perceived judicial activism from all 93 United States attorneys' offices to inform potential impeachment referrals to Congress. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has previously described a "war" with the federal judiciary.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said in January he supported the use of impeachment against judges, calling it an "extreme measure" warranted by what he described as "egregious abuses."
"We don't do one unless we think we truly have the elements necessary for the Senate to agree with us," said Representative Darrell Issa, a Republican from Cali…
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