Speaker Mike Johnson at a Tuesday morning GOP Conference meeting made clear the House will not seek to impeach federal judges, said three people with direct knowledge of his remarks, granted anonymity to share details of private conversations.
Johnson noted that Congress has only voted to impeach judges 15 times throughout history. He also said the House Judiciary Committee is taking lead with hearings — the first scheduled for next week — and the full legislative body will vote soon on a bill from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to rein in nationwide injunctions.
It remains to be seen whether Johnson has a winning strategy of giving members other ways to work out their frustrations with perceived judicial overreach, with so many conservatives clamoring to pursue impeachments — a route also favored by President Donald Trump. House Republicans, however, don’t currently have the votes to impeach any federal judges, anyway.
Johnson will also meet with Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee later this afternoon.
