House Democrat Files Impeachment Articles Against Chief Justice Roberts

On Thursday, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis), House Judiciary Committee member, introduced a resolution containing six articles of impeachment against Justice John Roberts. The measure has no co-sponsors and faces a Republican-controlled House, making passage unlikely.

Newsweek

Democrats have voiced frustration after the Court’s recent rulings on abortion, voting-rights, affirmative-action, gun-rights and campaign-finance, including the April decision narrowing Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Cohen’s articles accuse Roberts of (1) politicizing the Court, (2) enabling partisan gerrymandering (e.g., Rucho), (3) favoring the wealthy via Citizens United-type rulings, (4) weakening executive accountability in Trump v. United States, (5) issuing emergency-docket orders, and (6) failing to recuse from cases involving firms that paid his wife, Jane Sullivan Roberts, millions—a claim lacking independent verification.

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Cohen said the resolution shows Roberts’ conduct makes correcting misconduct impossible and that the Court now appears biased toward Republicans and the wealthy. Roberts, speaking to Pennsylvania lawyers, argued critics mistakenly view the Court as making policy rather than interpreting law, and stressed the Court is not simply part of the political process.

Newsweek

Republican lawmakers dismissed the impeachment as a partisan bid to delegitimize the judiciary, noting most Supreme Court rulings are unanimous and that impeachment of a justice is rare—only Justice Samuel Chase was impeached in 1804 and acquitted. A Public Religion Research Institute poll shows 75 % of Americans favor term limits for justices (67 % of Republicans, 86 % of Democrats), while Pew Research 2025 data indicates only 48 % view the Court favorably, with a 71 %-26 % partisan split.

Newsweek

With Republicans controlling both chambers, the resolution faces slim odds, but it makes judicial accountability a focal point in the 2026 midterm race, where Democrats may push ethics reforms or term-limit proposals.

Newsweek

• "I think at a very basic level, people think we’re making policy decisions, [that] we’re saying we think this is what things should be as opposed to this is what the law provides." — John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States

Newsweek

• "The Supreme Court is not simply part of the political process, and there’s a reason for that, and I’m not sure people grasp that as much as is appropriate." — John Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States

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• "Roberts has taken the Supreme Court to the breaking point with perceived political bias, unexplained and arbitrary rulings, and decisions being made, for the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and the broader citizenry." — Steve Cohen, U.S. Representative, Tennessee

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• "Jane Sullivan Roberts, the Chief Justice’s spouse, was being paid millions of dollars to recruit attorneys by the very firms litigating before the Court. This conduct directly violates 28 U.S.C. § 455." — Steve Cohen, U.S. Representative, Tennessee

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