A federal judge said Thursday that the Trump administration missed a court deadline to disclose details on deportation flights to El Salvador, escalating President Donald Trump’s ongoing legal battle with the judiciary.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said that the government’s lawyers failed to meet the deadline he set for them to submit information about the administration’s deportation flights, which included individuals who were targeted for immediate removal under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, and whether they knowingly defied his court order.

In a blistering order sent Thursday evening, the judge noted that the government ‘again evaded its obligations’ to submit information about the flights, even after he offered the opportunity for them to do so under seal. The filing they did submit was hours late and failed to answer his questions.

Instead, he said, the court was sent a six-paragraph declaration from a regional ICE office director in Harlingen, Texas, which notified the court that Cabinet secretaries are ‘actively considering whether to invoke the state secrets [act] privileges over the other facts requested by the Court’s order.’

‘This,’ he said, ‘is woefully insufficient.’

Boasberg on Saturday had granted an emergency restraining order blocking the Trump administration from using the 1798 law to deport Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of the gang Tren de Aragua, for a period of 14 days. He also ordered any flights in the air to return to U.S. soil immediately.

Hours later, however, a plane carrying hundreds of U.S. migrants, including Venezuelan nationals removed under the law in question, arrived in El Salvador. 

Boasberg immediately ordered the government to submit more information to the court, as part of a ‘fact-finding hearing’ to determine whether the Trump administration knowingly defied his order, and how many individuals were deported.

After the government repeatedly failed to comply, citing national security issues, he told them they could do so under seal by noon Thursday. 

Boasberg had asked government lawyers to submit information on how many planes departed the U.S. on Saturday carrying people deported ‘solely on the basis’ of that proclamation, how many individuals were on each plane, where the planes landed, what time each plane took off from the U.S. and from where.

‘To begin, the Government cannot proffer a regional ICE official to attest to Cabinet-level discussions of the state-secrets privilege; indeed, his declaration on that point, not surprisingly, is based solely on his unsubstantiated ‘understand[ing],” he said.

Boasberg then ordered the Trump administration to submit a brief by March 25 explaining why it did not violate his order by failing to return the individuals in question on the two earliest planes that arrived from El Salvador to the U.S. on March 15.

‘By March 21, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., Defendants shall submit a sworn declaration by a person with direct involvement in the Cabinet-level discussions regarding invocation of the state-secrets privilege,’ he added.  

Boasberg had previously warned the Trump administration of consequences if it were to violate his order. 

Still, at least one plane with deported migrants touched down later that evening in El Salvador. ‘Oopsie, too late,’ Salvador President Nayib Bukele said in a post on X. 

In the days since, government lawyers have refused to share information in court about the deportation flights, and whether the plane (or planes) of migrants knowingly departed U.S. soil after the judge ordered them not to do so, citing national security protections. 

The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo sent a letter to President Donald Trump offering a minerals deal in exchange for a security agreement with the U.S. that would remove violent rebels from the war-torn nation. 

‘Your election has ushered in the golden age for America,’ President Félix Tshisekedi wrote in February to Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. ‘Our partnership would provide the U.S. with a strategic advantage by securing critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium, copper and tantalum from the Democratic Republic of Congo.’

The Congo has over $20 trillion worth of minerals available, according to the Congo-based Panzi Foundation, including gold and copper. The African country is also the world’s largest producer of cobalt, which is essential for defense and aerospace applications, and a main component in the batteries of many electric vehicles and cellphones.

Tshisekedi seeks to strike a ‘formal security pact’ so Congo’s army can defeat a Rwandan-backed rebel group called M23 in exchange for a minerals deal, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

The letter did not provide details on what a potential security pact would look like or operate. 

Congo ‘is interested in partnering with the Trump administration to end the conflict and stop the flow of blood minerals via Rwanda,’ a Tshisekedi spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal. 

‘It is in both our interests that American companies – like Apple and Tesla – buy minerals direct from source in the DRC and unlock the engine of our mineral wealth for the benefit of all the world,’ she added. 

Congo and Rwanda are neighboring nations and have been involved in conflict for decades, including the First Congo War from 1996 to 1997, the Second Congo War between 1998 and 2003, and the most recent ongoing conflict that began in 2022. The current conflicts are rooted in gaining access to resources, such as minerals, and claims M23 will protect ethnic minorities from the Congolese government. 

The rebels seized Goma – the country’s largest city of the North Kivu province – in January as fighting between the Rwanda-backed rebels and government intensified, which included the deaths of 13 U.N. peacekeepers and foreign soldiers. 

Tshisekedi joined Fox News’ Bret Baier Wednesday to discuss the potential minerals deal with the U.S., explaining he wants to build jobs in his nation through the extraction of the minerals, while simultaneously building a partnership with the U.S. to ensure lasting peace in the nation. 

‘We want to extract these minerals but also process them, as this would create a lot of jobs,’ Tshisekedi told Baier. ‘And we want a partnership that will provide lasting peace and stability for our countries, which we need.’ 

China has a large presence in Congo, and it runs the country’s cobalt mine, Fox Digital previously reported. Tshisekedi brushed off concerns that China’s presence could complicate any potential deal with the U.S. during his interview with Baier. 

‘Nature abhors a vacuum, as the saying goes,’ he told Baier. ‘It’s not that China is waxing in Africa. It’s more that America is waning in Africa… and we would be very happy to have our American friends here, who used to be more present than China in the ‘70s and ’80s.’ 

Tshisekedi is also in negotiations with Erik Prince, the founder of private military firm formerly known as Blackwater and a Trump ally, to potentially aid the Congo’s government amid the war, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the deal offer, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

The offer comes after the Trump administration worked to strike a minerals deal with Ukraine, which is rich in resources such as lithium and copper, in an effort to recoup the cost of aid sent to Ukraine amid its war with Russia. 

The deal, however, was put on ice after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s tense Oval Office meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in February. 

Fox News Digital’s Paul Tilsley and Diana Stancy contributed to this report. 

: A top former spokesperson for former President Joe Biden blasted President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress for proposing potential judicial impeachments as the administration encounters court-imposed obstacles in enacting its agenda. 

Former White House spokesperson Andrew Bates now advises a group known as Unlikely Allies, which says it is working to create ‘cross-partisan support for the needs and interests of all Americans.’

‘Radical, corrupt attacks on judges are putting our Constitution and the freedom of every single American in danger from government overreach,’ Bates told Fox News Digital on the group’s behalf. ‘For the first time in history, our president and members of his party in Congress are colluding to impeach any federal judge who stops the most powerful person in the world from breaking the law.

‘The president has also called for making dissent illegal, which would trample the First Amendment and threaten the fundamental right of any American to disagree with his agenda — whether it’s cutting taxes for the rich or raising the prices he falsely promised to lower.’ 

According to the group, Unlikely Allies ‘is made up of everyday citizens, families, communities, and organizations who are committed to solving our toughest problems, together.’

‘Driven by the values that unite us, our goal is to create unified, cross-partisan support for the needs and interests of all Americans. This isn’t about left or right, Republican or Democrat — it’s about American values and holding our government accountable,’ a description of the organization says. 

The White House responded to Bates’ statement, with deputy press secretary Anna Kelly telling Fox News Digital, ‘Biden communications alum Andrew Bates has no credibility after lying to the world about Biden’s cognitive decline. Just like these judges, Bates is a left-wing activist masquerading as a nonpartisan as he works to destroy the separation of powers and subvert the will of the American people.’ 

The dispute comes as federal judges across the country continue to impose restrictions on Trump actions until further review and legal determinations. 

Recently, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg granted an emergency order to temporarily halt the administration’s deportation flights of illegal immigrants.

The judge granted an order to review the 1798 wartime-era Alien Enemies Act being invoked by the administration to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals and alleged members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua.

This only further angered the president, who appeared to call for Boasberg’s impeachment.

‘This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!’ Trump said on Truth Social.

Republicans in general have appeared to scrutinize the ability of federal district judges to make blanket nationwide orders in recent days. 

‘Federal judges aren’t there to replace presidential policy choices,’ Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X. ‘Nor is it their job to neuter presidents by delaying presidential decisions.

‘Their job is to resolve disputes about what the law says.’ 

Lee also said he is working on a bill to address the issue. 

In the House, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has a measure that would prevent federal judges from issuing nationwide injunctions. Multiple sources told Fox News Digital Trump has shown interest in Issa’s bill. Top White House aides shared as much with senior Capitol Hill staff this week, explaining that ‘the president wants this.’

House GOP leaders have little appetite to launch a full-scale impeachment process against judges who have been blocking President Donald Trump’s agenda, sources said Thursday.

Three people – two senior House GOP aides and one source familiar with leadership’s discussions – told Fox News Digital that House leadership does not see impeachment as the most effective way to hold accountable those they view as ‘activist’ judges.

Republican leaders are still looking into it, however, after Trump himself called for the impeachment of U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg over the weekend. Boasberg issued an emergency 14-day injunction on the Trump administration’s deportation of suspected Tren De Aragua gang members under the Alien Enemies Act.

But impeachment would largely be a symbolic gesture, even if such a move passed the House.

‘I don’t think we know if we have the votes, and it’s another intense whipping process for something that won’t move at all in the Senate,’ one senior House GOP aide said. ‘I think our focus is to do something that is easier to get votes for and could actually get all the Republicans in the Senate.’

A second senior House GOP aide was more blunt with Fox News Digital: ‘It’s likelier that President Trump will acquire Canada as our 51st state than the U.S. House of Representatives impeaching federal judges.’

‘This is an impossible task,’ the second senior aide said.

A third source familiar with House GOP leadership discussions said, ‘The impeachment route isn’t anyone’s favorite on this.’

It’s being pushed by a faction of conservatives primarily in the House Freedom Caucus, however – and they appear buoyed by Trump’s support for impeaching Boasberg.

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, introduced a resolution to impeach Boasberg for abuse of power. 

Gill told Fox News Digital earlier this week that Boasberg was a ‘rogue’ judge who was ‘overstepping’ his authority.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who previously told Fox News Digital that all options were on the table, suggested in multiple media interviews this week that the committee could hold a hearing on the matter.

Reps. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., are pushing resolutions to impeach other federal judges who blocked Trump policies as well.

However, with just 53 Republican senators, any impeachment resolution would need the help of Democrats to reach the two-thirds threshold required for removal after a Senate trial – which is highly unlikely to happen. 

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the Constitution, said all options should be available to Republicans. 

‘We ought to look at [impeachment], we ought to look at jurisdiction-stripping, we ought to look at every option that needs to be addressed about judges that are actively taking steps to try to undermine the presidency,’ Roy told Fox News Digital in a brief interview on Thursday.

He also pointed out that an impeachment by the House is in itself a punishment, although symbolic – though Roy noted he was not ‘for or against’ any one specific path right now.

It’s worth noting that former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas remains the second-ever Cabinet secretary impeached, a permanent note on his legacy even though the then-Democrat-controlled Senate quickly dismissed a trial.

But getting the Mayorkas impeachment resolution passed through the House was a messy political affair, when the GOP was dealing with a similarly slim margin. It took two House-wide votes to pass that measure, with Republicans falling one vote short on the first attempt and then narrowly passing the resolution with three GOP defections on the second.

GOP leaders have had more success with critical votes this year, however, with Trump in the White House pressing holdouts on key legislation.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is not ruling anything out right now, at least publicly. A spokesperson for Johnson told Fox News Digital that he would look at all options available to take on ‘activist judges.’

‘Activist judges with political agendas pose a significant threat to the rule of law, equal justice, and the separation of powers. The speaker looks forward to working with the Judiciary Committee as they review all available options under the Constitution to address this urgent matter,’ the spokesperson said.

Two other sources told Fox News Digital that another option Trump showed support for was a bill by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to block federal district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions.

: A top former spokesperson for former President Joe Biden is blasting President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress for proposing potential judicial impeachments, as the administration hits an array of court-imposed obstacles in implementing its agenda. 

Former White House spokesperson Andrew Bates now advises a group known as Unlikely Allies, which says it is working to create ‘cross-partisan support for the needs and interests of all Americans.’

‘Radical, corrupt attacks on judges are putting our Constitution and the freedom of every single American in danger from government overreach,’ Bates told Fox News Digital on the group’s behalf. ‘For the first time in history, our president and members of his party in Congress are colluding to impeach any federal judge who stops the most powerful person in the world from breaking the law.’

‘The President has also called for making dissent illegal, which would trample the 1st Amendment and threaten the fundamental right of any American to disagree with his agenda — whether it’s cutting taxes for the rich or raising the prices he falsely promised to lower,’ he continued. 

According to the group, Unlikely Allies ‘is made up of everyday citizens, families, communities, and organizations who are committed to solving our toughest problems, together.’

‘Driven by the values that unite us, our goal is to create unified, cross-partisan support for the needs and interests of all Americans. This isn’t about left or right, Republican or Democrat — it’s about American values and holding our government accountable,’ a description of the organization read. 

The White House responded to Bates’ statement, with Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly telling Fox News Digital, ‘Biden communications alum Andrew Bates has no credibility after lying to the world about Biden’s cognitive decline. Just like these judges, Bates is a left-wing activist masquerading as a nonpartisan as he works to destroy the separation of powers and subvert the will of the American people.’ 

The dispute comes as federal judges across the country continue to impose restrictions on Trump actions until further review and legal determinations. 

Recently, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg granted an emergency order to temporarily halt the administration’s deportation flights of illegal immigrants.

The judge granted the order to review the 1798 wartime-era Alien Enemies Act being invoked by the administration in order to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals and alleged members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua.

This only further angered the president, who appeared to call for Boasberg’s impeachment. ‘This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!’ he said on Truth Social.

Republicans in general have appeared to scrutinize the ability of federal district judges to make blanket nationwide orders in recent days. 

‘Federal judges aren’t there to replace presidential policy choices,’ wrote Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on X. ‘Nor is it their job to neuter presidents by delaying presidential decisions.’ 

‘Their job is to resolve disputes about what the law says,’ he continued. 

Lee also said he is working on a bill to address the issue. 

In the House, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has a measure that would prevent federal judges from issuing nationwide injunctions. Multiple sources told Fox News Digital that Trump himself has shown interest in Issa’s bill. Top White House aides shared as much with senior Capitol Hill staff this week, explaining that ‘the president wants this.’