In a rare and dramatic move, Senator Ted Cruz has called for the impeachment of two federal judges during a Senate hearing on Wednesday, escalating what has become an increasingly contentious battle over judicial conduct and political neutrality in the federal court system.

The Texas Republican laid out a detailed case against U.S. District Judges James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman, acknowledging that while impeaching federal judges is an extraordinary step—only 15 have been impeached throughout American history—he believes their actions warrant this severe constitutional remedy.

“Rarer still, until now, were the deeper offenses the framers feared most—judges who, without necessarily breaking a criminal statute, violate the public trust, subvert the constitutional order or wield their office in ways that injure society itself,” Cruz stated during the hearing. “That is why, throughout history, Congress recognized that impeachable misconduct need not be criminal.”

Cruz, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and has an extensive legal background, focused his criticism on two specific judicial decisions. In Boasberg’s case, the judge authorized gag orders that prevented Republican senators from being notified that special counsel Jack Smith had subpoenaed their phone records during his investigation into the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol riot.

For Boardman, a Biden appointee, Cruz took issue with her sentencing of Sophie Roske, formerly Nicholas Roske, to eight years in prison for attempting to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The Department of Justice had sought a 30-year sentence, but Boardman stated she considered Roske’s transgender identity and associated adversity as mitigating factors in her sentencing decision.

The impeachment process would need to begin in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, typically through the House Judiciary Committee. When asked if Chairman Jim Jordan was receptive to the idea, committee spokesman Russell Dye indicated that “everything is on the table.” However, even if the House were to approve articles of impeachment, removal would require a two-thirds majority in the Senate—a threshold that would necessitate Democratic support in the closely divided chamber.

Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island strongly objected to Cruz’s proposal, defending both judges and suggesting the impeachment threat was part of a broader Republican strategy to intimidate the federal judiciary.

“There was a time when I’d have hoped a Senate Judiciary subcommittee would not be roped into a scheme to amplify pressure and threats against a sitting federal judge,” Whitehouse said. “But here we are.”

The hearing highlighted the partisan divide over judicial independence. Cruz argued that Democrats’ expressed concerns about threats to judges were hypocritical, particularly regarding Boardman’s sentencing of Kavanaugh’s would-be assassin.

“My Democrat colleagues on this committee do not get to give great speeches about how opposed they are to violence against the judiciary, and, at the same time, cheer on a judge saying, ‘Well, if you attempt to murder a Supreme Court justice, and you happen to be transgender, not a problem,'” Cruz said.

Regarding Judge Boasberg’s gag orders, both special counsel Smith and representatives of the federal courts have maintained that Boasberg was not informed that the subpoenas targeted members of Congress. However, George Mason University law professor Rob Luther, testifying for the Republicans, challenged this explanation.

“One must ask on what basis Judge Boasberg found that the disclosure of subpoenas would result in destruction of or tampering with evidence, intimidation of potential witnesses, and cause serious jeopardy to the investigation,” Luther said. “Did Judge Boasberg merely rubber stamp the requested gag order, or was he willfully blind?”

Senator John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, noted during the hearing that Smith’s actions aligned with Department of Justice policy at the time, which did not require notifying the court that the subpoenas involved senators. Luther dismissed this justification, stating firmly that “DOJ policy does not supplant federal law.”

The unprecedented call for impeachment underscores the increasingly polarized view of the federal judiciary and raises significant questions about the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches of government.