The U.S. Department of Justice, acting at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi, filed a judicial-misconduct complaint on Monday against Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who presides over the federal trial court in Washington. In a letter sent by DOJ Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle to Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan of the D.C. Circuit, the department alleges Boasberg breached judicial ethics by making “improper public comments” about President Donald Trump and his administration during a closed-door Judicial Conference session on 11 March, remarks the DOJ says undermined public confidence in judicial neutrality. According to the complaint, Boasberg told Chief Justice John Roberts and about two dozen judges that the administration might disregard court rulings and provoke “a constitutional crisis.” The department asks the appeals court to open a special investigative committee, consider sanctions up to a recommendation for impeachment, and reassign any cases in which Boasberg’s impartiality could be questioned—specifically naming the high-profile deportation litigation he currently oversees. Boasberg has clashed with the administration over its attempt to use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport hundreds of Venezuelan nationals to a Salvadoran prison. On 15 March he ordered three deportation flights turned around and later found probable cause to hold the government in criminal contempt, though the Supreme Court vacated his order in April. Monday’s filing marks an escalation in the administration’s efforts to challenge judges it contends are hostile to its immigration policies.