Articles of Impeachment Drafted Against Federal Judge Who Blocked DOGE

The impeachment process has been started against U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer — the federal judge who blocked DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s payment system.

Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona officially drafted the articles of impeachment against Judge Engelmayer on Tuesday.

Check out the details:

🚨 NEW: Congressman ELI CRANE (R-AZ) is filing articles of IMPEACHMENT against U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, an activist judge who has issued a ruling blocking DOGE.

"Partisan judges abusing their positions is a threat to democracy […] Judge Engelmayer is attempting to… pic.twitter.com/eOwn9ancgJ

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 11, 2025

On Saturday, Judge Engelmayer ruled to block DOGE from accessing key Treasury payment systems — a move widely criticized for severely stepping outside his bounds to not only protect corruption but also hinder DOGE & President Trump’s mandate to eradicate it from the government.

Here’s what Rep. Eli Crane had to say about Judge Engelmayer’s ruling and his decision to start the impeachment process:

🧵

I’m drafting articles of impeachment for US District Judge Paul Engelmayer.
 
Partisan judges abusing their positions is a threat to democracy.

The left has done “irreparable harm” to this country. President Trump and his team at @DOGE are trying to fix it.

— Rep. Eli Crane (@RepEliCrane) February 11, 2025

This is obviously judicial overreach.

Judge Engelmayer is attempting to stop White House employees from accessing the very systems they oversee.

Where in the constitution does it say a President and his team cannot root out obvious waste, fraud and abuse?

— Rep. Eli Crane (@RepEliCrane) February 11, 2025

Elon Musk had previously called for the “corrupt” judge’s impeachment.

We reported on that a few days ago:

Elon Musk Calls For Impeachment of “Corrupt Judge” Who Blocked DOGE

Newsweek provided some more background details:

A Republican congressman has said he drafted articles of impeachment against a judge who blocked Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing Treasury Department payment systems.

Arizona Representative Eli Crane said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer was "attempting to stop White House employees from accessing the very systems they oversee."

Newsweek reached out to Engelmayer for comment via an email to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Why It Matters

Musk's efforts to cut the federal budget by $2 trillion a year has faced major legal challenges since President Donald Trump first entered the White House. Last week, DOGE began hiring lawyers with Supreme Court clerking experience ahead of legal battles that could go all the way to the highest court. The impeachment of a judge blocking DOGE would be a huge victory for Musk's team.

What To Know

Engelmayer is responsible for a Saturday ruling that blocked Musk and his DOGE allies from accessing sensitive Treasury records.

He issued a preliminary injunction barring DOGE, which is not an official government department, from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans in Treasury Department records. He also ordered DOGE to destroy any records they might already have obtained since January 20.

ADVERTISEMENT

In his decision, Engelmayer said that the abrupt change in policy might result in personal information being leaked or the Treasury systems being hacked. He also said that state legal proceedings on the Treasury information access would likely find that DOGE's demands did not have proper legal backing.

Now that the impeachment articles have been drafted, the next step will be review by the House Judiciary Committee.

Per The Washington Times:

After he drafts impeachment articles, Mr. Crane must submit them to the House of Representatives, where they would be referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

Judge Engelmayer, an Obama appointee, angered Mr. Musk on Sunday when he issued an order in response to a lawsuit filed by 19 state attorneys general saying that the DOGE team had no authority to access the systems with sensitive information, including Americans’ bank account numbers.

“A corrupt judge protecting corruption,” Mr. Musk said on X. “He needs to be impeached NOW!”

The judge’s temporary restraining order blocks the government from “granting access to all political appointees, special government employees, and government employees detailed from an agency outside the Treasury Department, to any Treasury Department payment record, payment systems, or any other data systems maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information and/or confidential financial information of payees.”

We'll keep you updated on any new developments as the impeachment moves forward.

In the meantime, be sure to share this article and spread the news!