Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden is seeking to impeach the federal judge who temporarily blocked efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to access payment systems within the U.S. Treasury Department.
Van Orden, a Republican from Prairie du Chien and ally to Trump, introduced a resolution on Tuesday seeking impeachment of U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” The resolution, first reported by Reuters, follows mounting pressure from billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency service, and others questioning the judiciary’s authority to serve as a check on executive power.
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Van Orden’s resolution accuses Engelmayer of engaging in judicial misconduct when he temporarily blocked members of Musk’s DOGE team from accessing Treasury Department records following a lawsuit filed by 19 Democratic attorneys general.
“Engelmayer has abused his judicial office by using his authority to further personal or political interests, contrary to the constitutional responsibility to apply the law impartially, including the improper handling of this case in a manner that demonstrates favoritism or undue influence, undermining the fundamental principles of justice,” the resolution states.
Engelmayer declined to comment on the resolution Thursday. Van Orden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The time for Judicial Activism is over,” Van Orden said in a Thursday post on X. “The American people gave (Trump) a mandate and no politician disguised as a jurist will interfere with it.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Black Earth, in a statement criticized Van Orden’s resolution as an effort to appease Musk, rather than Wisconsinites.
“The richest man in the world is taking a machete to the government to justify a $4.5 trillion tax break for him and his billionaire buddies,” Pocan said. “Maybe if Derrick took time on his vacation to read the Constitution, he’d realize there are three equal branches of government, and that we have laws in this country that must be followed no matter who is in charge.”
The U.S. House would need to pass Van Orden’s resolution by a simple majority to impeach Engelmayer. The U.S. Senate would then have to secure a two-thirds vote to convict him. While Republicans control both chambers, they don’t hold a supermajority in the Senate.
Engelmayer’s Feb. 8 order blocking DOGE from accessing Treasury Department records, which contain sensitive personal data like bank account and Social Security numbers for millions of Americans, is one of several ongoing legal battles over Trump’s slew of executive orders focused on what the president has called wasteful government spending.
With several executive orders now tied up in the courts, Trump’s allies have begun to question the judiciary’s authority as a check on the nation’s executive branch.
“A corrupt judge protecting corruption,” Musk posted on X earlier this month after Engelmayer’s order. “He needs to be impeached NOW!”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
