Elon Musk wants to impeach judge who blocked Alien Enemies Act

Tech billionaire Elon Musk was furious after a federal judge attempted to halt the deportation of Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador. The Trump administration ignored the court orders and did not get bring the immigrants back to the US.

Judge James Boasberg on Saturday blocked President Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century bill, to deport members of the Venezuelan gang Teen de Aragua. Boasberg instructed the government to divert the two flights carrying the immigrants back to US soil. However, the administration did not comply.

Responding On X (formerly Twitter), Elon Musk replied to a post by of US Senator Chuck Grassley. Grassley claimed that the country was in a "constitutional crisis" due to judges "unilaterally" making decisions.

Musk asserted that judges who make such rulings should at least be face an impeachment vote in Congress. He wrote, “The very worst judges those who repeatedly flout the law should at least be put to an impeachment vote, whether that vote succeeds or not.”

How is a judge impeached?

Impeachment refers to the process of removal of a judge from office. Federal judges in the US can be impeached if the House of Representatives passes the vote by a simple majority.

In the US, federal judges can be impeached if the House of Representatives passes an impeachment vote by a simple majority. However, the Senate must hold a trial and conduct its own impeachment vote. The vote in the Senate must be passed by a two-thirds majority for the judge to be removed from office.

Given these requirements, it would be difficult for the Trump administration to remove Judge Boasberg, as Republicans do not hold a two-thirds majority in the Senate.