Georgia Republicans seek to impeach federal judge over misconduct findings

Two Georgia Republicans moved to put federal Judge Eleanor L. Ross on the impeachment track after a judicial investigation found misconduct serious enough to draw a private reprimand, but not serious enough for the judiciary to remove her on its own. U.S. Reps. Clay Fuller and Andrew Clyde filed H.Res. 1346 in the House on June 8, sending the case to the House Judiciary Committee and turning a disciplinary matter into a rare confrontation over a sitting federal judge.

The resolution names Ross as a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and says the conduct at issue spanned from October 2023 through October 2025. The allegations include repeated sexual activity with a high-ranking uniformed police officer in her office, within earshot of staff, attendance at a partisan political event, and misleading investigators. Those findings sit at the center of the impeachment question: some allegations are classic ethics violations, while the pattern of candor problems and abuse of office is the kind of conduct lawmakers could argue becomes impeachable if it so undermines public trust that Congress judges removal necessary.

Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr. identified the complaint on September 30, 2025 and appointed a special committee to investigate. The special committee’s final report, dated December 10, 2025, also addressed Ross’s supervision of law clerks and found she had at times yelled at and cursed at staff. The Eleventh Circuit Judicial Council later adopted the findings and issued a private reprimand, while Ross agreed to apologize to six former law clerks, forego service as chief judge if otherwise eligible, and avoid service on any Judicial Conference committee indefinitely.

Ross, who was nominated by President Barack Obama on January 6, 2014 and confirmed by the Senate on November 18, 2014, remains on the bench unless Congress acts. That is what makes the Republican push significant: federal judges have life tenure, and impeachment is one of the most severe powers Congress can use against them. The Federal Judicial Center says removals by impeachment are rare, underscoring how unusual it is for lawmakers to target a sitting judge.

The case has also spilled beyond the courthouse. An Atlanta Police Department investigation was underway to determine whether the officer involved is one of its own. Clyde’s new resolution follows an earlier impeachment effort he filed in March 2025 against another federal judge, Chief Judge John James McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island, showing that House Republicans are increasingly willing to test impeachment as a tool against judges. The question now is whether Ross’s case remains a discipline scandal inside the judiciary or becomes a broader political test of accountability.