“Impeach this pseudo-jurist!!,” Elon Musk, who heads the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), declared in reply to a congressman’s announcement that he is preparing articles of impeachment against a judge who blocked President Trump’s freeze of federal funding during an audit.
“I’m drafting articles of impeachment for U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr.,” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) reported Wednesday in a post on Musk’s X.com social media platform:
“He’s a partisan activist weaponizing our judicial system to stop President Trump’s funding freeze on woke and wasteful government spending.
“We must end this abusive overreach. Stay tuned.”
Rep. Clyde was replying to a post by Investigative Reporter Natalie Winters sharing video of controversial comments by Judge McConnell regarding race and impugning Pres. Trump:
“EXC - I've unearthed footage from 2021 where the judge blocking the Trump spending freeze accuses Trump of being a "tyrant," claims racism is a "white people problem," and insists transgenders need special sentencing privileges.
“This is an activist not a judge.”
I’m drafting articles of impeachment for U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr.
He’s a partisan activist weaponizing our judicial system to stop President Trump’s funding freeze on woke and wasteful government spending.
We must end this abusive overreach. Stay tuned. https://t.co/ARp7KBjK9u— Rep. Andrew Clyde (@Rep_Clyde) February 12, 2025
On Monday, U.S. District Court (RI) Judge McConnell issued a ruling blocking Pres. Trump’s freeze on federal funding and ordered any paused funding to be released.
Judge McConnell has close ties to the Democrat Party and its campaign activism, as The Providence Journal reports:
“Before assuming the bench, McConnell was well-known in Democratic circles. He and his wife, Sara Shea McConnell, ranked as major donors to Democratic political candidates, party war chests and liberal organizations nationwide.
“He previously served as treasurer of the state Democratic Committee and chaired then-Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline's reelection campaign, as well as Myrth York's race for governor.”
Judge McConnell, who was nominated by then-President Barack Obama in 2021, failed twice to gain Senate approval of his nomination, but succeeded on the third attempt as a result of a strictly partisan vote.
Musk has been calling for the impeachment of activist judges who are overstepping their Constitutional authority to block Pres. Trump’s executive orders. In a follow-up post praising Rep. Clyde’s announcement, Musk simply replied “Yes.”