REUTERS, Washington

US Chief Justice John Roberts rebuked President Donald Trump on Tuesday for urging the impeachment of a federal judge, laying bare tensions between the country’s chief executive and the judiciary as Trump’s sweeping assertions of power run into judicial roadblocks.

In a rare statement, Roberts wrote: “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.”

He wrote the correct response was to file an appeal.

Roberts’ statement followed Trump’s call in a social media post on Tuesday for the impeachment of a federal judge. Washington-based US District Judge James Boasberg ordered the administration on Saturday to halt the removal of alleged Venezuelan gang members, which Trump has argued is authorised by an 18th-century law historically used only in wartime.

Tensions have been rising since Trump returned to the White House with the president and his allies publicly criticising courts for blocking aspects of Trump’s agenda. The atmosphere has raised concerns among some experts that the administration might openly defy a court order, possibly sparking a constitutional crisis.

“I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump wrote on Tuesday. Trump also called the judge a “Radical Left Lunatic.”