Trump's GOP allies bombard judges with impeachment threats

• Impeachment was a rarely used tool until the Democrats twice impeached Trump during his first term. Since then, it exploded as Republicans repeatedly targeted Biden administration officials.

Driving the news: Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) on Friday unveiled his articles of impeachment against Paul Engelmayer, a district court judge from New York who blocked DOGE from accessing sensitive Treasury Department data.

• The articles charge Engelmayer with abuse of power, accusing him of using his "judicial position to advance personal interests and political gain."
• With his ruling against DOGE, the measure says, Engelmayer showed "apparent bias and favoritism" and "compromised the impartiality of our judicial system."
• The Southern District of New York, Engelmayer's judicial venue, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zoom out: The measure's introduction comes just one day after Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisc.) filed a measure to impeach Engelmayer on similar grounds.

• Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) is also working on articles of impeachment against John J. McConnell Jr., a Rhode Island district court judge who blocked the administration's attempt to freeze federal spending.
• All three measures are longshots and impeachments of federal judges are rare — the last was in 2010 — and generally for financial corruption or gross personal misconduct.