Rep. Eli Crane is making good on previous threats to try to impeach a federal judge for getting in the way of President Trump and Elon Musk’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency.

Mr. Crane, Arizona Republican, on Friday announced that he has filed articles of impeachment against U.S. District Court Judge Paul Engelmayer. The lawmaker accused Judge Engelmayer of being an “activist judge” for temporarily blocking DOGE from accessing records at the Treasury Department.

“President Trump campaigned on rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal government, and the American people gave him a mandate to do so,” Mr. Crane said in a statement. “This is obviously judicial overreach and a clear threat to democracy. If these partisan judges want to be politicians, they should resign and run for office.”

Judge Engelmayer’s order was in response to a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James and 18 other state attorneys general, including Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, against the Trump administration.

Judge Engelmayer, who was appointed by President Obama in 2008, cited a risk of “irreparable harm” from DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s payment system, which offers services to more than 250 federal agencies and is the pipeline for payments that go to millions of Americans.

His sweeping order barred political appointees or special government employees assigned to the Treasury Department from accessing the system, and also required that any of data collected be immediately destroyed.

Mr. Crane accused Judge Engelmayer of restraining Mr. Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Mr. Musk and his DOGE acolytes from accessing the system, and in doing so, exhibiting “apparent bias and favoritism.”

“Using the powers of his high office, Judge Engelmayer interfered with the will of the people,” Mr. Crane’s impeachment resolution stated. “In so doing, Judge Engelmayer used the powers of his position to engage in actions that overstep his judicial authority. By making a political decision outside the scope of his legal duties, he compromised the impartiality of our judicial system.”

• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.