U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) had harsh words for a number of his Republican colleagues after they voted with Democrats to kill an amendment aimed at reigning in the federal judiciary.
On Wednesday night, the House rejected an amendment proposed by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) aimed at slashing funding for certain federal courts. The measure, part of the fiscal 2026 appropriations package, sought to cut 20 percent from the budgets of the D.C. District Court and Circuit Court while zeroing out staff and office expenses for U.S. District Judges James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman.
Judge Boasberg, an Obama appointee who currently serves as the chief judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, has generated national headlines due to a number of controversial anti-Trump rulings made over the last 12 months. Last March, Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador.
The judge even attempted to order planes to turn around while they were in the air — something that was unfeasible — and attempted to hold Trump officials in contempt for “ignoring” his verbal order. Boasberg’s handling of the case led to sharp pushback from the White House, while U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) introduced articles of impeachment against him.
Boasberg has handled a number of additional cases involving Trump-era investigations, including ordering former Vice President Mike Pence to testify before a grand jury as part of the Biden Justice Department’s January 6 investigation.
Ahead of a contentious vote Wednesday night, Roy framed his amendment as a response to “activist” judges undermining Trump’s policies and over-stepping their authority. “These two individuals have been particularly egregious in their contempt of the President and putting their personal views in front of their duty as judges to carry out the jobs that they hold,” the congressman said.
He further accused Boasberg of “bringing back deported gangbangers” and “greenlighting FBI spying on Republicans,” while criticizing Boardman for “going easy on the would-be killer of Justice Kavanaugh because he claims he’s a woman.”
Despite report from the majority of the Republican conference, the amendment failed by a final vote of 257-163. All Democrats present voted against it, as did 46 Republicans, while an additional 16 Republicans abstained or were absent.
Here’s your list of Republican traitors who voted to sabotage the America First agenda and to fund rogue activist federal judges who violated separation of powers! pic.twitter.com/lTI7jZKYlq
— Mike Engleman🇺🇲 (@RealHickory) January 15, 2026
In response to the failed amendment, Rep. Burchett sharply criticized the 46 Republicans who opted to vote with Democrats, stating that he was leaving the House floor in “total disgust.”
The congressman added that the vote, as well as another failed vote to cut funding for a number of foreign militaries, left him disgusted. “Well, my mom used to say I don’t like making my living off of suffering of others, and that’s just pathetic. I don’t know, I’m just disgusted with it. We came up here to do something and we’re not doing it. And they’re gonna pat themselves on the back,” he said.
“Yeah, it was less than the last one, but we’re funding a bunch of garbage. And a lot of this stuff we’re funding, actually, when you dig into it, is funding stuff that Trump did away with. So you gotta ask yourself, where the heck does the dadgum money go? And nobody’s asking those dadgum questions. To me, it’s pathetic, and it’s disingenuous to the American public, and we need to start holding people accountable.”
