Trump DOJ hammers judge’s ‘digressive micromanagement,’ seeks more time to answer 5 questions

The Justice Department accused a federal judge of "digressive micromanagement" on Wednesday in relation to a case involving deportation flights that sent Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador over the weekend.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Justice Department to submit answers to five questions after it insisted Tuesday that the flights did not violate a court order. Boasberg granted an emergency order Saturday to temporarily block the flights from taking place for 14 days while his court considered the legality of using the 1798 wartime-era Alien Enemies Act to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals and alleged members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua. 

"The Court has now spent more time trying to ferret out information about the Government’s flight schedules and relations with foreign countries than it did in investigating the facts before certifying the class action in this case," read a filing Wednesday that was co-signed by Attorney General Pamela Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and others. "That observation reflects how upside-down this case has become, as digressive micromanagement has outweighed consideration of the case’s legal issues." 

"The distraction of the specific facts surrounding the movements of an airplane has derailed this case long enough and should end until the Circuit Court has had a chance to weigh in. The Government respects this Court and has complied with its request to present the Government’s position on the legality of the Court’s [Temporary Restraining Order] and the Government’s compliance with that TRO," they wrote. 

DOJ INSISTS EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHTS DID NOT VIOLATE COURT ORDER

Boasberg ordered the Justice Department on Tuesday to answer five questions, submitting declarations to him under seal by noon on Wednesday: "1) What time did the plane take off from U.S. soil and from where? 2) What time did it leave U.S. airspace? 3) What time did it land in which foreign country (including if it made more than one stop)? 4) What time were individuals subject solely to the Proclamation transferred out of U.S. custody? and 5) How many people were aboard solely on the basis of the Proclamation?" 

However, the Justice Department said in their filing today that "Defendants are currently evaluating whether to invoke the state secrets privilege as to portions of the information sought by this Court’s order." 

"Whether and how to invoke that privilege involves both weighty considerations and specific procedures that are not amenable to the 21-hour turnaround period currently provided by this Court’s order," it continued. 

"The underlying premise of these orders, including the most recent one requiring the production of these facts ex parte today at noon, is that the Judicial Branch is superior to the Executive Branch, particularly on non-legal matters involving foreign affairs and national security. The Government disagrees. The two branches are coequal, and the Court’s continued intrusions into the prerogatives of the Executive Branch, especially on a non-legal and factually irrelevant matter, should end," the Justice Department added.

It also said "disclosure of the information sought could implicate the affairs of United States allies and their cooperation with the United States Government in fighting terrorist organizations" and "such disclosure would unquestionably create serious repercussions for the Executive Branch’s ability to conduct foreign affairs." 

IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES HIT JUDGE WHO ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

"What began as a dispute between litigants over the President’s authority to protect the national security and manage the foreign relations of the United States pursuant to both a longstanding Congressional authorization and the President’s core constitutional authorities has devolved into a picayune dispute over the micromanagement of immaterial factfinding," the Justice Department declared. 

Boasberg responded to the Justice Department Wednesday by giving it another day to answer his five questions "or to invoke the state-secrets doctrine and explain the basis for such invocation," according to court filings.

"Mere hours before their filing deadline and characterizing the Court’s proceedings as ‘a picayune dispute over the micromanagement of immaterial factfinding,’ Defendants seek to stay the Court’s Order requiring them to produce in camera particular information," Boasberg wrote. "Although their grounds for such request at first blush are not persuasive, the Court will extend the deadline for one more day."

"The Court seeks this information, not as a ‘micromanaged and unnecessary judicial fishing expedition,’ but to determine if the Government deliberately flouted its Orders issued on March 15, 2025, and, if so, what the consequences should be," Boasberg added.

TRUMP CALLS FOR JUDGE IN DEPORTATION LEGAL BATTLE TO BE IMPEACHED

In granting the emergency order Saturday, Boasberg sided with the plaintiffs – Democracy Forward and the ACLU – who had argued that the deportations would likely pose imminent and "irreparable" harm to the migrants under the time proposed.  

Boasberg also ordered the Trump administration on Saturday to immediately halt any planned deportations and to notify their clients that "any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States," he said. 

However, the decision apparently came too late to stop two planes filled with more than 200 migrants who were deported to El Salvador.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in an interview that a plane carrying hundreds of migrants, including more than 130 persons removed under the Alien Enemies Act, had already "left U.S. airspace" by the time the order was handed down. 

Fox News' Breanne Deppisch and David Spunt contributed to this report.

DeSantis proposes solution as Trump’s agenda is stymied by judges

As aspects of President Donald Trump's agenda are stymied by judges amid legal challenges, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suggested that Congress could strip federal courts of jurisdiction.

"Congress has the authority to strip jurisdiction of the federal courts to decide these cases in the first place. The sabotaging of President Trump’s agenda by ‘resistance’ judges was predictable — why no jurisdiction-stripping bills tee’d up at the onset of this Congress?" DeSantis wrote in a Wednesday post on X.

When someone responded by asking how such a move could pass when 60 votes would be needed to push it through the Senate, DeSantis replied, "Attach it to a ‘must pass' bill…"

JUDGE ORDERS REINSTATEMENT OF USAID FUNCTIONS, SAYS DOGE EFFORT TO SHUTTER AGENCY LIKELY UNCONSTITUTIONAL

DeSantis, who sought the 2024 Republican presidential nod but ultimately dropped out and backed Trump after the GOP Iowa presidential caucus, floated the idea of stripping federal courts of jurisdiction when replying to a tweet from U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.

"Lots of noise about impeachment. We must study every ruling & act accordingly w/ everything on the table (noting: 14 Dem votes required in Senate). But, more fertile ground… 1) House can pass a resolution stating there is/was an invasion, 2) we can defund radical courts," Roy had posted.

EL SALVADOR'S BUKELE WEIGHS IN AFTER TRUMP'S CALL TO IMPEACH JUDGE: ‘THE U.S. IS FACING A JUDICIAL COUP’

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump called for the impeachment of a judge, apparently referring to Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

"This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President," Trump declared in the post. "This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY."

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, announced that he had introduced articles of impeachment against Boasberg.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP'S TRANSGENDER MILITARY EXECUTIVE ORDER

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement on Tuesday, "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."

Fox News' Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this report

Trump fires Democratic FTC commissioners

President Donald Trump fired two Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, both of whom now say they plan to sue to get their jobs back.

The firings hit Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter, who represent the Democratic minority in the five-member commission. The White House did not immediately confirm Trump's firing of the officials to Fox News Digital, but both Bedoya and Slaughter released public statements saying they intend to sue to return to their roles.

"I'm a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission. The president just illegally fired me," Bedoya wrote on social media, arguing Trump wants the FTC to "be a lapdog for his golfing buddies."

Slaughter released a similar statement saying Trump "illegally fired" her, arguing the move was "violating the plain language of a statute and clear Supreme Court precedent."

RUBIO HEADS TO PANAMA, LATIN AMERICA TO PURSUE TRUMP'S 'GOLDEN AGE' AGENDA

"We are still commissioners. We're suing to make that clear for everyone," Bedoya said in a follow-up statement.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, a Republican first appointed to the commission by President Biden and then made chairman by Trump, said he saw no issues with the firings on Tuesday.

"President Donald J. Trump is the head of the executive branch and is vested with all of the executive power in our government," Ferguson wrote. "I have no doubts about his constitutional authority to remove commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government."

"I wish Commissioners Slaughter and Bedoya well, and I thank them for their service," he added.

The FTC firings are only the latest battle over the limits of Trump's executive authority. His administration is facing numerous lawsuits from disgruntled former employees across the federal government, and several federal judges have sought to hamper his administration's efforts.

TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW BAN ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

Last week, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg verbally issued a 14-day restraining order to immediately halt the Trump administration's Tren de Aragua deportation plan. Trump was deporting the gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, and the order could have forced two planes full of TdA gang members to return to U.S. soil.

Trump's efforts to trim the federal government with Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have also led to a litany of legal challenges.

Reuters contributed to this report.

El Salvador’s Bukele weighs in after Trump’s call to impeach judge: ‘The U.S. is facing a judicial coup’

After U.S. President Donald Trump called for the impeachment of a judge, President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele asserted in a post on X that "The U.S. is facing a judicial coup."

Elon Musk agreed with the foreign leader, sharing the tweet and commenting, "1000%."

In a post on Truth Social, Trump, apparently referring to Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, called the judge a "Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator," noting that he had been nominated by President Barack Obama.

TRUMP CALLS FOR JUDGE IN DEPORTATION LEGAL BATTLE TO BE IMPEACHED

"This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY," Trump declared in the post.

Trump recently issued a proclamation that pointed to the Alien Enemies Act as providing the authority to remove Venezuelan citizens 14 and older who belong to Tren de Aragua if they are not naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the U.S.

In response to a legal challenge regarding Trump's move, Judge Boasberg sought to temporarily block the removal of such individuals pursuant to the proclamation.

SCOOP: IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES HIT JUDGE WHO ORDERED TRUMP TO STOP TREN DE ARAGUA DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

But flights that had reportedly departed prior to the judge's order did not reverse course.

The administration recently transported 261 illegal aliens to El Salvador, of whom 137 were deported under the Alien Enemies Act, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted on Monday.

Bukele announced on Sunday that "the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country," adding that "the U.S. has also sent us 23 MS-13 members wanted by Salvadoran justice, including two ringleaders."

US PAID EL SALVADOR TO TAKE VENEZUELAN TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBERS: ‘PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS

Trump raised the issue again in a post shortly after midnight. "If a President doesn’t have the right to throw murderers, and other criminals, out of our Country because a Radical Left Lunatic Judge wants to assume the role of President, then our Country is in very big trouble, and destined to fail!" he declared in the post shared just minutes into Wednesday.

How Donald Trump dominates the news, both positively and negatively

The Associated Press, not exactly a White House favorite, has shot itself in the foot.

The following retraction is nothing short of humiliating:

"The Associated Press has withdrawn its story about U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard saying President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘are very good friends.’ Gabbard was talking about Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The AP will publish a corrected version of the story."

TRUMP ACCUSES BIG MEDIA OF ‘ILLEGAL’ REPORTING, VIRTUALLY ABOLISHES VOICE OF AMERICA

Whoa! How do you run that piece in the first place without having it nailed down?

The wire service, you may recall, is suing the Trump administration for ousting its reporters from the White House pool over its refusal to refer to "Gulf of America." So, this unforced error puts the White House in I-told-you-so mode.

On Monday, when Trump was at the Kennedy Center, an NBC reporter tried to ask a question, Trump asked, "Who are you with?"

After the journalist identified himself, the president said: "I don’t want to talk to NBC anymore. I think you’re so discredited." 

The Trump team later posted the exchange with "mic drop" emojis.

The point is that Trump dominates the news no matter what he does. And, as I’ve been saying for the 35 years I’ve known him, even a torrent of negative publicity helps him because his media detractors are playing on his turf.

While Trump was visiting the Kennedy Center, he "floated" the idea of personally hosting the annual awards show. And who’s going to stop him, since he’s purged the Democratic board members?

ELON MUSK, LIGHTNING ROD, WHO CALLS AN OPPONENT 'TRAITOR,' BECOMES A HIGH-PROFILE TARGET

The ratings, he said, would skyrocket. And he’s right about that.

As the New York Times notes, a younger Trump dreamed of becoming a Broadway producer. He now says the Kennedy Center will concentrate on producing "Broadway hits."

And by the way, Trump released 80,000 pages of JFK assassination files yesterday and has asked for no redactions.

The president can make news on the slightest whim, just by posting on Truth Social.

He just went after Judge James Boasberg, who ordered the deportations of mostly Venezuelan gang members to be stopped while planes were still in the air:   

"This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!" WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY."

The posting drew a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts:

"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."

DONALD TRUMP, FACING TERRIBLE COVERAGE, SOFTENS TONE AND TACTICS FOR ELON MUSK’S DOGE CRUSADE

The president is also renewing his habit of going after journalists personally. Ashley Parker had a highly successful career at the New York Times and Washington Post–she’s also an MSNBC analyst–who recently joined the Atlantic.

She asked Trump for an interview. 

After dismissing the liberal Atlantic as a "Third Rate Magazine," Trump posted:

"Ashley Parker is not capable of doing a fair and unbiased interview. She is a Radical Left Lunatic, and has been as terrible as is possible for as long as I have known her. To this date, she doesn’t even know that I won the Presidency THREE times. If you have some other reporter, let us know, but Ashley is not capable or competent enough to understand the intricacies of High Level politics."

Parker is restrained, not radical, and in bringing up the 2020 election, Trump is asking her to accept something that has never been proven in court or by his own attorney general.

A magazine spokesperson said, "Atlantic reporters are diligent and fair and continue to pursue stories of importance to the public."

And then there is, you know, the actual job of the presidency. Trump reported yesterday on his 90-minute phone call with Vladimir Putin.

They "stressed the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia" – no surprise there.

"The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace…. 

"They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application. The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel."

And: "The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside," including "enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability."

It seems to me that Trump got next to nothing. A 30-day pause in attacks on energy plants and infrastructure, that’s about it. Everything else is subject to negotiations, which gives the Kremlin more time to keep attacking Ukraine and lock in further territorial gains. A real cease-fire seems a long way off.

But whether Trump is on the attack or being attacked, he is driving the news every day, even inserting himself into culture and sports topics. Keep that in mind when the ratings-driven president hosts the Kennedy Center honors.

Judicial halt of deportation flights puts US foreign policy at risk, career State Dept official claims

The United States' foreign policy could be in jeopardy after a federal judge ordered deportation flights with Venezuelan gang members be returned to the states, a career State Department official argued in a recent court filing. 

Michael Kozak, Senior Bureau Official at the State Department, wrote in a declaration filed Monday that, "The foreign policy of the United States would suffer harm if the removal of individuals associated with TdA were prevented," given the "significant time and energy" already invested by U.S. government officials. 

Obama-appointed, D.C.-based Judge James Boasberg issued an order Saturday to immediately halt any planned deportations of Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador. Boasberg also ordered the Trump administration to notify their clients that "any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States."

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS NOON DEADLINE TO DISCLOSE DEPORTATION FLIGHT DETAILS AFTER JUDGE'S ORDER

The flights also included alleged members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). 

Kozak noted the possibility "that foreign interlocutors might change their minds" over accepting certain individuals associated with TdA "or might otherwise seek to leverage this as an ongoing issue."

"These harms could arise even in the short term, as future conversations with foreign interlocutors seeking to resolve foreign policy matters would need to take this issue into account along with other issues, instead of allowing the discussions to fully move on to the other issues," Kozak wrote. 

Kozak did not further expand upon the "harms" that could arise as a result of Boasberg's order in his declaration. 

JUDGE WHO ORDERED DEPORTATION FLIGHTS OF VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS BE RETURNED FACES CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT

"TDA is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet earth," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital in a statement. "They rape, maim and murder for sport. TDA is responsible for some of the most heinous crimes that have occurred on US soil in recent years, including the murders of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray. TDA is a direct threat to the national security of the United States."

The Trump administration had attempted to invoke a 1798 law to immediately deport said individuals for 14 days. 

Boasberg sided with the plaintiffs, Democracy Forward and the ACLU in granting the emergency order and ruling that the deportations would likely pose imminent and "irreparable" harm. 

"Given the exigent circumstances that [the court] has been made aware of this morning, it has determined that an immediate Order is warranted to maintain the status quo until a hearing can be set," Boasberg wrote. 

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP'S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

In a Monday-evening hearing, Boasberg proceeded to ask the Trump administration to submit more information regarding the flights.

Both parties are ordered to appear back in court on Friday.

In its Monday motion to vacate the order, the Trump Department of Justice argued that not only did the court not have jurisdiction to hear the plaintiffs' claims, but Trump's "determination that an ‘invasion’ or ‘predatory incursion’ has occurred" is not subject to judicial review. 

"The Constitution simply provides no basis for a court to determine when this AEA trigger has been met, and thus there is no basis for second-guessing the policy judgment by the Executive that such an ‘invasion’ or ‘predatory incursion’ is occurring," the motion read. 

The motion also argued that the administration's "Proclamation" and its implementation "are perfectly lawful."

"Under his authority to protect the nation, the President determined that TdA represents a significant risk to the United States, that it is intertwined and advancing the interests of a foreign government in a manner antithetical to the interests of the United States, and that its members should be summarily removed from this country as part of that threat," the motion continued. 

Fox News Digital's Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report. 

California Sen Adam Schiff changes tune on DOJ, reams increasingly ‘Orwellian’ leadership

Sen. Adam Schiff, once a staunch defender of the Justice Department’s independence, now warns it has become an ‘Orwellian’ tool for President Donald Trump and ripe for political abuse.

The California Democrat and former U.S. prosecutor, who served four House terms before his election to the Senate last fall, has long been an outspoken Trump foe, using his former posts as chair of the House Oversight Committee and impeachment probes to urge a more independent-minded Justice Department. 

"The rule of law is a core foundation of our nation," Schiff previously told Time Magazine during Trump's first term in office. "No one, not even the president, is above it."

Schiff once served as a federal prosecutor at the Justice Department, where he helped successfully convict an ex-FBI agent on charges of spying for the Soviet Union. Throughout his later service in the House, he repeatedly defended the Justice Department as independent-minded and asserted that its career officials operate above the political fray. 

TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW BAN ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

He also chided his Republican colleagues who, in his view, too harshly criticized the agency, warning them that doing so could lead to an erosion of trust.

Fewer than four years later, however, Schiff is singing a different tune. 

Now in the Senate, the California Democrat is one of the most vocal critics, sounding the alarm about Trump's efforts to reform the Justice Department to his liking. 

On Monday, he pushed back against Trump's claim that he and other members of the House committee tasked with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot could be subject to "investigation at the highest level," as the president threatened in a Truth Social post.

"The members of the Jan 6 Committee are all proud of our work," Schiff wrote on X, in response to Trump's remarks. "Your threats will not intimidate us. Or silence us."

Earlier this month, Schiff took aim at the current leadership of the Justice Department in a blistering floor speech, noting that the DOJ’s three most senior officials, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and John Sauer, all formerly represented Trump in criminal court proceedings. 

By so frequently claiming the Justice Department has been improperly "weaponized" against him, Schiff said, Trump has arguably given his officials a green light, "in Orwellian fashion, to do what they have accused others of doing," which is "to weaponize the department. … To use the department as a sword and as a shield."

WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY DEFENDS TRUMP'S FIRING OF INSPECTORS GENERAL

Schiff also blasted the Supreme Court decision last August that expanded the view of presidential immunity – a ruling, he said, that "has turbocharged the ability to weaponize the Department of Justice by a president who wishes to use it for that purpose."

Last month, Schiff joined other Democrats on the panel in urging the administration to turn over information that prompted their decision to remove or reassign dozens of career Justice Department officials and FBI personnel. 

Lawmakers also cited concerns about a sprawling questionnaire sent by Justice Department officials to thousands of FBI agents and supervisors in January asking detailed questions about their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot investigation.

FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION

That questionnaire is also the subject of a lawsuit filed this year by current and former FBI agents, who are seeking to head off any retaliation or discriminatory action against personnel involved in the Jan. 6 probe. A judge is expected to hear from both parties in court later this month.

Most recently, Trump attempted to strip security clearances and access to federal government buildings for all Perkins Coie employees, a law firm he sees as opposed to his political agenda, prompting a federal judge to step in and block the order.

 "An American President is not a king – not even an 'elected' one – and his power to remove federal officers and honest civil servants like plaintiff is not absolute," U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell wrote in a court order this month that blocked one of Trump’s executive orders from taking force.

Schiff, for his part, appears to share that view.

"There could be no more frontal assault on the post-Watergate policy of having some division between the White House and the Justice Department than the Supreme Court of the United States saying, ‘Break down that wall. Use the department any way you wish. Create cases where there’s no evidence. Dismiss cases where there’s plenty of evidence. And you will never face accountability. No matter how corrupt a motive,'" Schiff said this month. 

Reached for comment about his evolving views on the Justice Department, Schiff's office pointed Fox News Digital to his previous remarks, including a February interview on MSNBC’s "The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell." Asked about his claims that Trump has weaponized the Justice Department – and the severity of the issue – Schiff responded, "We’ve had a debate about what level of constitutional crisis we’re in, and frankly, I think we’re already there."

SCOOP: Impeachment articles hit judge who ordered Trump to stop Tren de Aragua deportation flights

FIRST ON FOX: A House GOP lawmaker has filed impeachment articles against the federal judge who ordered the Trump administration to stop deportation flights being conducted under the Alien Enemies Act.

"For the past several weeks, we've seen several rogue activist judges try to impede the president from exercising, not only the mandate voters gave him, but his democratic and constitutional authority to keep the American people safe," Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. "This is another example of a rogue judge overstepping his…authority."

Gill's resolution, first obtained by Fox News Digital, accused U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg of abusing his power in levying an emergency pause on the Trump administration's plans to deport illegal immigrants under a wartime authority first issued in 1798, which President Donald Trump recently invoked to get members of the criminal Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua out of the U.S.

"Chief Judge Boasberg required President Trump to turn around planes midair that had aliens associated with Tren De Aragua, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization," the resolution said. "This conduct jeopardizes the safety of the nation, represents an abuse of judicial power, and is detrimental to the orderly functioning of the judiciary. Using the powers of his office, Chief Judge Boasberg has attempted to seize power from the Executive Branch and interfere with the will of the American people."

TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW BAN ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

In a brief interview with Fox News Digital shortly before filing his resolution, Gill suggested he wanted the matter to go through the House in traditional form – which would first put the resolution in front of the House Judiciary Committee, where Gill is a member.

"I'll be talking to [Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio] about it," Gill said. "I think the best way to do this…is to go through the judiciary committee, which is where impeachment of judges runs through. I think the more we can stick with that plan, the better."

A legal firestorm is brewing after Boasberg verbally issued a 14-day restraining order Saturday night to immediately halt the Trump administration's Tren De Aragua deportation plan. It comes in response to human rights groups arguing that Venezuelan nationals with legitimate asylum claims are in danger of being swept up in the deportations, despite having no known connection to the notorious gang.

The Texas Republican, who is class president for first-term members in the 119th Congress, first threatened to file impeachment articles against Boasberg on Sunday. Trump backed the move on Tuesday morning in a fiery post on his Truth Social account.

Trump called him a "Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator," adding, "HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY."

"I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!" Trump wrote.

Gill accused Boasberg of knowingly "tying the president's hands so that Trump and his team, instead of executing on the mandate the voters gave him, are litigating every single action that the president is taking."  

He said it was "unconstitutional" and a "usurpation of executive authority."

The Trump administration has pointed out that the judge's written order was issued after two planes carrying alleged gang members were already in the air, arguing it was too late to turn the planes around at that point. A third plane that took off after the first two was not carrying any Alien Enemies Act deportees, the administration said. 

"All of the planes that were subject to the written order, the judge's written order, took off before the order was entered in the courtroom on Saturday," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday. She said the administration did not run afoul of any court order.

However, Boasberg pushed back in a court hearing later that day, according to The Associated Press, saying at one point to the Trump administration's lawyer, "I’m just asking how you think my equitable powers do not attach to a plane that has departed the U.S., even if it’s in international airspace."

RUBIO HEADS TO PANAMA, LATIN AMERICA TO PURSUE TRUMP'S 'GOLDEN AGE' AGENDA

The standoff could make it all the way to the Supreme Court and could have seismic repercussions on the bounds of lower-level federal judges' authority.

Gill's move also comes after similar threats by other Trump allies in the House. Reps. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., and Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., have all vowed to file impeachment articles against U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer for blocking Department of Government Efficiency efforts.

The court declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Gill's resolution.

Trump calls for judge in deportation legal battle to be impeached

President Donald Trump called for the impeachment of a judge in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, apparently referring to U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg who recently sought to block deportation flights to El Salvador.

"This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President - He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY," Trump declared in the post.

"I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" the president added.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

SCOOP: Trump crafts plan to cut spending without Congress after shutdown is averted

FIRST ON FOX: The White House has already started mapping out how to make good on its promise to slash federal spending in preparation for a six-month government funding bill to pass through Congress.

Two people familiar with the conversations told Fox News Digital that President Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought are working on a strategy for impounding federal funds that Congress is expected to allocate this week, before the partial government shutdown deadline on March 14.

Trump and his allies have made no secret of their belief that the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is unconstitutionally constraining the powers of the president. But the new development is a significant step toward a likely legal showdown as Democrats warn they will respond if Trump tries to bypass Congress on federal spending.

The fight could go all the way up to the Supreme Court.

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It comes as Senate Republicans and Democrats are at an impasse over a Trump-backed government funding bill known as a continuing resolution (CR). The Senate GOP needs as many as eight Democrats to cross the aisle and vote for the bill, which the left has widely panned as an avenue to let Trump and Elon Musk dismantle the federal bureaucracy.

The measure is a rough extension of fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding levels, meant to carry the government through the beginning of FY 2026 on Oct. 1. 

It's the third such extension since the beginning of FY 2024, but the first to take place under a fully GOP-controlled Washington. 

Republicans have said it would give them more time to cobble together conservative spending bills for FY 2026, and have celebrated the CR essentially freezing government spending for a year.

Trump and House GOP leaders worked overtime convincing holdouts to vote for the CR this week, as some conservatives balked at the idea of extending Biden administration-era funding.

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But the promise of Trump using Congress' funding allocations as a ceiling and not a floor ultimately played a big part in convincing conservatives.

"We appropriate, that’s an important principle. But then the chief executive can make decisions below that spending level. The chief executive can say, ‘Hey this isn't the best use of money,'" Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in an interview this week.

Roy has been a key figure in government spending talks, acting as a liaison between conservative fiscal hawks and leaders in the House and White House.

He and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., both agreed with Vought and Trump that the Impoundment Control Act – which was passed in response to Congress at the time believing President Richard Nixon was holding back lawful funding because he disagreed with it personally – was unconstitutional.

"The chief executive can say, ‘I don't have to buy a $500 hammer, I can buy a $100 hammer. I don't have to buy a $100 million carrier, I could buy $50 million carrier,' or whatever. He's the executive. So if that money is then spent properly to carry out the functions of government, why should you have to spend every dollar of it, right? It’s literally unconstitutional," Roy said.

Roy said he believed the same authority would apply to a Democratic president.

"By the way, I realize this means that would be true for Joe Biden or that would be true for some future Democrat, and I'm OK with that. There's always going to be some debate," Roy said. "There's going to be some contours the courts would give us. Congress might step in and clarify the law, and that might be deemed constitutional… but to blanket to say the president can’t impound, I think is facially unconstitutional."

Norman told Fox News Digital, "The 1974 impoundment act was against Richard Nixon. It’s a different day now."

He also said Trump and Vought were "going to move forward" on impoundment.

"He’s got the constitutional right to do it, so he’s going to push on with it, and thinks the courts will ultimately side with him," Norman said. "I can't get in Trump’s mind, but I know he’s hell-bent on interpreting the Constitution as his right to use impoundment."

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Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who served as House Democrats' lead counsel during Trump's first impeachment, told Fox News Digital the move would be patently unconstitutional.

"It is illegal for the president to act unilaterally and either rescind or change congressionally designated funds," Goldman said.

In the event of likely court challenges – which Goldman pointed out were already going on with Trump moving to cut various programs – House Democrats would likely move to help, he said.

"We can file an amicus brief, and we likely would do that on such a critical issue of congressional power," he said.

At the same time, both Roy and Norman signaled Trump's congressional allies were discussing rescission as another avenue to spend less than the CR allocates.

The Impoundment Control Act provided a mechanism for the legislative and executive branches to enact spending cuts via specific rescissions. Such a bill would only require 51 votes in the Senate rather than the standard 60-vote threshold for passage, meaning Democrats in theory would not be needed.

"I think that they are concurrent plans, and we will use all of those tools at the appropriate time, but I say that as an observer from Congress," Roy said, noting he had no insight into White House discussions on impoundment.

Norman said Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will play a role in identifying where the funds could be found.

"There’s going to be a lot of things in it. What DOGE has done is identify, but now if he’s just going to identify and we don’t move forward on rescission – it’s gotta have some effect," he said.

It's not immediately clear if such conversations have reached House GOP leadership, however. Norman said they were "just beginning."

But lawmakers have been toying with the idea of Trump pursuing spending cuts after the CR is passed for days.

Vice President JD Vance huddled with House Republicans behind closed doors earlier this week, making an 11th hour plea for unity on the looming CR vote.

Among his pitches, people told Fox News Digital at the time, was the need to keep the government open to allow DOGE to do its work.

"We will have much more flexibility for DOGE cuts once we've had more time to identify and quantify them," one House Republican said of Vance's message.

There's also the matter of whether to repeal the Impoundment Control Act – Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., introduced a bill to do so earlier this year, and it's gathered a significant number of Republican co-sponsors.

But a senior House Republican told Fox News Digital that while it was "on the table," it's not likely that the Senate's 53 Republicans will get enough help from Democrats to reach 60 votes.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and OMB for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.