What are the eight federal judges facing impeachment resolutions mentioned by Republican House allies, and who is sponsoring those articles?
Executive summary
Republican House allies and some Senate Republicans have said there are eight federal judges with impeachment resolutions pending in the Republican-led House, but public reporting assembled for this brief names and details for only two of those judges — Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg and U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman — and identifies the members who have sponsored the articles against them [1] [2]. Multiple outlets show House conservatives have filed or circulated resolutions against those two judges and that Senate Republicans, including Ted Cruz, have urged House action, while Democrats and judicial-watch groups warn such campaigns risk politicizing the bench and escalating threats against judges [3] [4].
1. Who the reporting explicitly identifies: Judges Boasberg and Boardman and their sponsors
Reporting repeatedly singles out Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as a target and cites a March 2025 resolution introduced by Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) that accuses Boasberg of “abuse of power” for rulings blocking certain deportation actions, a resolution that reportedly has 23 co-sponsors [2]; separate coverage notes a second Boasberg impeachment resolution filed in November that additional House Republicans signed [1] [5]. Coverage also names Judge Deborah Boardman as the subject of an impeachment resolution introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) alleging she abused her power in sentencing related to a 2022 attempted assassination case, a resolution that Roy filed with 16 co-sponsors according to reporting [2] [5].
2. The broader claim of “eight judges” and the reporting gap
Multiple outlets repeat an assertion that eight judges face impeachment resolutions pending in the House, a figure invoked by Senate Republicans during a January 7 hearing and by media summaries of a renewed House conservative push [1] [5]. However, the reporting provided here does not enumerate the other six judges by name or list the sponsors of their respective articles, leaving a significant documentation gap: sources assert the “eight” figure but do not publish a full roll call of the judges or the individual sponsors beyond Boasberg and Boardman [1] [5].
3. Who is pressing for action in the Senate and House leadership’s posture
Senate Republicans held a hearing urging the House to advance impeachment articles against so‑called “rogue” judges, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz urged Speaker Mike Johnson to advance inquiries into Boasberg and Boardman specifically [1] [3]. Speaker Mike Johnson publicly said he would support impeachment articles against at least two judges, including Boasberg, signaling House leadership receptivity to pursuing those cases [2].
4. Political motives, counterarguments and safety concerns
Advocates for impeachment frame the push as accountability for judges alleged to substitute policy preferences for law, while critics — including Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and other Democrats — argue the campaign fits a pattern of partisan attacks that can fuel threats against judges and their families, a concern raised in a Senate letter and at hearings [4] [3]. Reporting also notes polling and commentary suggesting public resistance to impeaching judges over rulings, and experts warned the effort could further politicize the judiciary [6] [3].
5. What can be concluded and what remains unknown from the reporting
The confirmed public record in these sources identifies two judges — James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman — and ties them to specific House sponsors, Rep. Brandon Gill for Boasberg and Rep. Chip Roy for Boardman, plus reported co-sponsor counts [2] [1] [5]. The claim that eight judges in total face impeachment resolutions in the House appears in multiple reports, but the identities of the other judges and the full list of sponsoring members are not provided in the materials assembled here, so any definitive list beyond Boasberg and Boardman cannot be responsibly supplied from these sources alone [1] [5].