FIRST ON FOX: Georgia Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde is formally introducing his articles of impeachment against a Rhode Island judge who previously ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funds.
The articles, first shared with Fox News Digital, charge Chief U.S. District Judge John James McConnell Jr. with abuse of power and conflicts of interest, stating he “knowingly politicized and weaponized his judicial position to advance his own political views and beliefs.”
If McConnell is found guilty of such charges, the articles read, he should be removed from office.
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McConnell is currently overseeing a lawsuit brought by 22 states and the District of Columbia that challenges the Trump administration’s move to withhold federal grant funds. After McConnell ordered the administration to comply with a restraining order, the government appealed to the First Circuit – which refused to stay the orders.
“The American people overwhelmingly voted for President Trump in November, providing a clear mandate to make our federal government more efficient,” Clyde told Fox News Digital. “Yet Judge McConnell, who stands to benefit from his own injunction, is attempting to unilaterally obstruct the president’s agenda and defy the will of the American people. Judge McConnell’s actions are corrupt, dangerous, and worthy of impeachment.”
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Clyde announced plans to draft impeachment articles in early February, after McConnell ordered the Trump administration to reinstate paused federal grants and loans. The articles formalize the charges.
McConnell has also come under fire from Trump supporters and conservatives in recent weeks after a 2021 video resurfaced in which he warned that courts must “stand and enforce the rule of law … against arbitrary and capricious actions by what could be a tyrant or could be whatnot.”
The articles cite that video, claiming McConnell “has allowed his personal, political opinions to influence his decisions and rulings,” and that he has demonstrated a “bias that would warp his decision” in the federal freeze case.
In a statement, Clyde said “judicial activism” is “the Left’s latest form of lawfare.”
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“Congress bears the responsibility and the constitutional authority to hold activist judges accountable through impeachment,” he continued. “I applaud the work of my colleagues to hold other rogue judges accountable, and I hope we see swift action on this critical matter in the House very soon.”
Clyde’s impeachment resolution follows a similar move by Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who earlier filed articles of impeachment against U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg. The Washington, D.C.-based federal judge is overseeing a separate case challenging President Donald Trump’s use of an 18th-century wartime law to deport Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador who were linked to the violent gang Tren de Aragua.
Gill accuses Boasberg of abusing his power by pausing the deportation order under the 1789 law.
The mounting criticism of lower court judges who have ruled against the Trump administration prompted U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to issue an unusual statement in response this month.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
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