Legislative faction revives judicial impeachment push after leadership approval

Conservative members of the lower chamber are reportedly reviving various efforts to impeach judges accused of obstructing the head of state’s agenda, following tacit approval from the chamber’s speaker earlier this week, according to sources familiar with the matter.

“I just spoke to him on the chamber floor, and he’s still in support, so we’re going to push to move forward on at least one,” a lawmaker from a southern state told local media in the early evening Thursday.

The legislator was among the conservative allies of the leader who spearheaded the push to impeach judges last year as the administration engaged in legal battles with federal courts across the country over various rulings, observers note.

He had previously introduced impeachment articles against a district judge for blocking an executive order targeting transgender recognition under federal law, as well as another district judge after his ruling to stop a crackdown on foreign aid by the government efficiency department.

Neither of those impeachment resolutions nor others targeting several other judges advanced at the time, however. Leaders of the ruling party in the lower chamber made clear they believed impeachment was an impractical way to deal with what conservatives saw as “activist judges” allegedly trying to influence policy rather than interpret law.

The speaker and other leaders instead reportedly favored legislation to limit district judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions. That bill passed the lower chamber along partisan lines last year but was never taken up in the upper chamber, according to legislative records.

The speaker sounded more enthusiastic about impeachment during his press conference Wednesday, telling reporters, “I’m for it,” according to media accounts.

He named a specific district judge who has been targeted by ruling party members after rulings on several key immigration cases involving the leader’s policies, including flying migrants to other countries instead of detaining them domestically.

The judge more recently raised conservative ire when it was revealed that he had signed off on decisions that allowed for the seizure of some ruling party lawmakers’ phone records in a former special counsel’s investigation, sources indicate.

A resolution to impeach the judge led by a lawmaker from a southern region gained traction among conservatives last year, and the legislator told media he was heartened by the speaker’s comments Thursday.

“We’re going to do everything we can to push that forward. I mean the reality is that [the judge] has been acting as an agent of the opposition party for quite some time now,” the lawmaker said, according to reports. “I’m thrilled to see the speaker get on board. I think his leadership will be crucial in getting this passed.”

The legislator said it was still early to predict whether it would see a chamber-wide vote but said his office was in contact with the speaker’s office about the measure, which he described as “moving in the right direction.”

A source familiar with his effort told media that his resolution to impeach the judge gained two new co-sponsors from the ruling party after the speaker’s comments this week.

Other members of the ruling party in the lower chamber who supported the push last year indicated they would do so again, observers note.

“I’d be all for it,” one lawmaker from a southern region told media. He said of the judge specifically, “I think he’s one of the most forthright judicial activists on the bench and that’s not why he was put on the bench.”

Another legislator said the speaker expressing support could strengthen the push.

“There’s a lot of respect for [the] Speaker, especially as a constitutional lawyer — he’s someone that a lot of people have a lot of confidence in,” the lawmaker reportedly said. “The fact that he’s willing to step out there as Speaker, it says a lot.”

A member of the judiciary committee told media, “I think there’s more of an appetite and less of a hesitation than there was earlier in the legislative session. We had an agenda. We didn’t want to be distracted with potential impeachment, but I think now, as we’re realizing things are not getting better, the people around the nation are expecting us to hold this judge and others like him accountable.”

But not all members of the ruling party were as enthusiastic, according to sources.

The chairman of a conservative faction, who was supportive of judicial impeachment efforts last year, told media Thursday that he was not sure it could survive the committee process needed before a chamber-wide vote.

A senior party official said “everybody has to be willing to consider impeachment” as a power of the legislature but said he did not know the details of the specific initiatives.

“I will reinforce how much I like [the alternative] bill. It moves it away from political rhetoric into, ‘Hey, let’s do something substantive here,’” the official reportedly told media. “It’s a pretty innovative solution in a very sound way.”

The renewed push comes as the nation continues to grapple with tensions between the executive and judicial branches, a dynamic common in countries with strong separation of powers systems, political analysts note.