70 percent oppose impeaching judges over Trump rulings: Poll
Most Americans oppose impeaching federal judges who have ruled against President Trump's spending cuts and agency closures, according to a new poll.
In the Marquette University Law School poll, 70 percent of respondents said they do not back federal judges’ impeachment over anti-Trump rulings on spending cuts and agency closures, while 30 percent said they did support the judges’ impeachment.
Last week, two GOP lawmakers filed articles of impeachment aimed at two federal judges who issued rulings that essentially halted Trump from going forward with parts of his agenda.
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) said he introduced articles of impeachment targeting U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell, who in March issued an injunction preventing a Trump administration federal spending freeze.
Another Republican lawmaker, Rep. Andy Ogles (Tenn.), announced last week that he filed an impeachment article targeting U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang. Chuang in March stopped tech billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency from going ahead on further dismantling the United States Agency for International Development.
A third Republican, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas), introduced a resolution to impeach Judge James Boasberg, who issued a ruling that barred the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants.
Impeachment of judges, however, is widely seen as a futile endeavor on Capitol Hill. Skepticism from a number of Republicans could make it hard to get through the House, and a conviction in the Senate would require support from at least 14 Democrats.
Other findings in the Marquette Law poll included 65 percent of respondents not supporting the Department of Education’s elimination, while 35 percent said they supported the department’s termination.
Late last month, the president signed an executive order looking to facilitate his goal of getting rid of the Department of Education.
The Marquette Law School poll took place between March 17 and 25, featuring 1,021 people and a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.