As House Republicans make noise about impeaching a judge who ruled against President Donald Trump's attempts to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has several paths he can choose.
House Republican leadership would rather not go down a path they believe is likely to fail and could be seen as throwing Democrats a life raft, Punchbowl News reported.
If Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, forces a vote on impeaching Judge James Boasberg, Johnson could send the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee.
The committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, would then hold hearings to decide whether Boasberg has committed high crimes and misdemeanors. Jordan told CNN Wednesday he believes all options are on the table.
"We're going to do some research, we're going to dig into this, and we're going to find out," said Jordan, who called Boasberg's decision "stupid."
"Boasberg said ... turn the plane around, bring back gang members, hardened criminals, who've done all kinds of bad things, who are here illegally. Turn the plane around and bring those bad guys back to the country. I think just on its face, this is ridiculous. And so, it sure looks like the judge is acting in a political fashion."
Johnson could also table the legislation, which would require House members to vote on whether they should dispense with the impeachment proceedings, according to Punchbowl. This is not a preferred option for Republicans, Punchbowl said.
The speaker could also just let Congress vote on impeachment. The House would likely reject impeachment, and it could cause a divide in the Republican conference, according to Punchbowl.