President Donald Trump called for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to face impeachment after the New York Democrat described the Supreme Court’s conservative majority as “illegitimate” following a major Voting Rights Act decision.
“Hakeem Jeffries, a Low IQ individual, said our Supreme Court is ‘illegitimate.’ After saying such a thing, isn’t he subject to Impeachment? I got impeached for A PERFECT PHONE CALL. Where are you Republicans? Why not get it started? They’ll be doing this to me!” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday.
Jeffries fired back in a Sunday post on X, writing simply: “Jeffries Derangement Syndrome.” The phrase makes a play on “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” a term the Republicans have long used to mock critics and political opponents.
Trump’s post seemed to suggest Republicans should pursue Jeffries’ removal from office but members of Congress are generally not subject to impeachment in the same way presidents, judges and other federal civil officers are.
The back-and-forth came after Jeffries criticized the Supreme Court’s Wednesday ruling that declared Louisiana’s addition of a second majority-Black congressional district an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The 6-3 decision weakened a central provision of the Voting Rights Act but did not eliminate it entirely.
Last week, Jeffries called the ruling “unacceptable” and accused the court’s conservative majority of undermining minority representation.
“Today’s decision by this illegitimate Supreme Court majority strikes a blow against the Voting Rights Act and is designed to undermine the ability of communities of color all across this country to elect their candidate of choice,” Jeffries said.
“But we’re not here to step back, we’re here to fight back. Now, when this decision came out earlier today — it’s an unacceptable decision, but not an unexpected decision,” he added.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has historically allowed civil rights groups and other advocates to challenge district maps and push for additional majority-minority districts. The Supreme Court’s decision did not get rid of the provision outright, with Justice Samuel Alito portraying it as an “update” to the framework that has governed Voting Rights Act cases for decades.
The ruling immediately intensified a broader political fight over voting rights, congressional maps and the court’s conservative majority. Jeffries and other Democrats have argued that the decision will make it harder for communities of color to elect preferred candidates, while conservatives have defended the ruling as a limit on race-based redistricting.
Trump, however, seized on Jeffries’ criticism of the court itself, framing the Democratic leader’s comments as grounds for punishment and pressing Republicans to respond.
The episode also revived Trump’s long-running grievances over his own impeachments. His reference to “A PERFECT PHONE CALL” echoed his repeated defense of the 2019 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that led to his first impeachment.
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