Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie warned President Donald Trump Sunday that calling for judges who rule against his administration to be impeached could alienate Chief Justice John Roberts and hurt Trump’s chances at the Supreme Court.
“If what he does is continue to make statements like, ‘Impeach judges I disagree with,’ he’s going to tick off the Supreme Court so much that they may not give him everything he wants,” Christie, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”
In a Tuesday Truth Social post, Trump called for impeaching “many” of the judges his administration appears before, naming D.C. federal trial Judge James Boasberg in particular, who ruled against one of Trump’s deportation policies. Within hours of that post, Roberts issued a rare rebuke of a president’s public remarks.
“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, without naming Trump.
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, responded by filing articles of impeachment against Boasberg, though it is unclear that House leaders will allow them to move forward.
Trump appeared to respond to the chief justice in a Thursday Truth Social post by calling for Roberts and his colleagues to rein in lower court judges handling the new administration’s cases.
“If Justice Roberts and the United States Supreme Court do not fix this toxic and unprecedented situation IMMEDIATELY, our Country is in very serious trouble!” he said.
Judges across several cases have questioned the lawfulness of recent Trump executive actions dealing with deportations, federal worker firings, transgender women in prisons, and more. The Trump administration is expected to appeal a wide range of cases that could end up before the Supreme Court.
Christie, a former federal prosecutor, said Sunday he believes Roberts actually agrees with Trump “on a majority of the executive power issues.” But the one-time Trump ally, who later became one of the president’s top critics, argued that picking a fight with the chief justice could negatively impact what happens for Trump at the highest court in the land.