Justice John Roberts Pushes Back on Trump's Calls to Impeach Judge

The week in politics is off to another rocky start as Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issues a rare statement defending the judicial branch of the government. Here is a look at the details of what led to this statement as well as what else is happening in and around the nation's capital.

Federal Judge Questions Department of Justice

One of the biggest political storylines of the last few days revolves around the Trump administration's decision to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. Trump invoked this act over the weekend, a power that has only been triggered three times in its history. The president said that he was going to lean on this power to accelerate and support the deportation of migrants that he claimed were connected with a dangerous gang in Venezuela.

The situation escalated into the early part of the week, reaching a fever pitch in a Washington, D.C. courtroom on Monday. Lawyers representing five people who challenged the president's decisions to invoke the act got their time in court after a judge had previously ordered the flights to turn back.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg presided over the hearing, questioning why the Trump administration did not comply with the orders to turn the deportation flights back to the U.S. after being told to do so by the court.

Boasberg said the administration had until Tuesday to answer a series of questions about the flight. For instance, the judge said he wanted to know the exact time that the deportation flights left U.S. air space and when they arrived in Central America.

The Justice Department responded to the request on Tuesday, filling in some of the blanks of what happened with the deportation flights that were carried out on Saturday night. A sworn declaration from a senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official defended the decision to go on with the flight even after Boarsberg ordered the flight to turn around.

Trump did not take well to Boasberg's admonishment, calling for his impeachment. The drama continued on Tuesday when Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a statement that seemingly pushed back on Trump's criticism of Judge Boasberg.

While Roberts did not specifically address the situation, his brief statement noted that suggesting impeachment is not the typical response when disagreeing with a judge's decision. Roberts said that the appellate review process is in place for this reason.

The head of the Supreme Court has been largely quiet in recent weeks as Trump and his team have escalated their attacks on the nation's judiciary system. Tuesday's rare rebuke is indicative that the tensions are continuing to grow between the judiciary and executive branches of the government.

Trump Revokes Secret Service Detail for Hunter and Ashely Biden

President Donald Trump has revoked the security detail assigned to the adult children of former President Joe Biden. Trump announced on Monday that he removed the Secret Service detail for Hunter and Ashley Biden. The president defended his decision, detailing that Hunter Biden was using as many 18 agents on his detail. He noted that Ashley Biden had 13 people working on her detail.

Trump made the announcement through his Truth Social account just hours after being asked about it by a reporter while touring The Kennedy Center. This is not the first time that Trump has revoked the detail for individuals that had been formerly protected.

The president also revoked Secret Service protection for John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and Mark Milley earlier in the year. Trump also removed the protection that had been assigned to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

French Lawmaker Suggests Taking Back the Statue of Liberty

A French lawmaker is calling on the U.S. to return the Statue of Liberty, saying that some Americans have decided to "switch to the side of the tyrants." Raphael Glucksmann is a member of the European Parliament. Glucksman represents the left-wing party known as Place Publique. He made the comments at a political rally over the weekend, noting that the gift from France in 1886 represents liberty.

The Trump administration fired back at the suggestion on Monday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the French should be grateful for America's help over the years. The comments by Leavitt prompted Glucksmann to take to social media to criticize Trump for his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump and Putin Discuss Potential Ceasefire Deal in Phone Call

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the phone on Tuesday as the White House tries to help negotiate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. A readout of the call released by the White House detailed the specifics of the conversation.

According to the readout, the two leaders will begin the discussions on an energy and infrastructure ceasefire. However, the readout did not indicate that Putin had agreed to the proposed 30-day ceasefire supported by both Trump and Ukraine.

Rather, the discussions centered on focusing on the energy and infrastructure first before moving to the details of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea. The readout confirmed that negotiations on the Black Sea ceasefire as well as the move to full peace would start immediately in the Middle East.

Federal Judge Says that Musk Overstepped Executive Authority

A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Elon Musk's decision to shut down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was likely in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

The ruling came from Judge Theodore D. Chuang of the U.S. District Court in Maryland. Chaung said that Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) does not have the authority to terminate grants or contracts managed by the USAID. The ruling also said that DOGE cannot fire any more employees from the global aid organization.

Lastly, the ruling prohibited DOGE from sharing data that was under the control of USAID.

The ruling is considered to be a significant win for those challenging Musk's authority as a non-elected official in the federal government. By putting a preliminary injunction on the newly created DOGE, the ruling marks the first time that Musk's power has been limited under the rules of the U.S. Constitution.

Legal experts said that this ruling could set a precedent in how other courts may respond to challenges against Musk.