Georgia Impeachment Push Against Judge Eleanor Ross

Two Georgia Republican congressmen filed separate resolutions in June 2026 seeking the impeachment of Judge Eleanor Ross, a federal district judge in Atlanta, after a judicial misconduct investigation found she had a sexual relationship with a police officer in her chambers, attended a partisan political event, and lied to the judges investigating her. Both resolutions were referred to the House Judiciary Committee, and as of late June 2026 no hearings had been scheduled.¹

What Ross Is Accused Of

The allegations came to light in the fall of 2025, when a former law clerk filed a complaint alleging that Judge Ross had engaged in sexual activity with a high-ranking uniformed police officer inside her chambers during business hours, on multiple occasions and within earshot of staff.²

Eleventh Circuit Chief Judge William Pryor confronted Ross with the allegations in September 2025. She denied them that same day, calling them “outrageous” and “baseless,” and the next day suggested in an email that the clerk had fabricated the report in retaliation for being required to work in the office.² A special committee was appointed. A forensic review of courthouse security footage, sign-in logs, and staff interviews corroborated the clerk’s account. The officer was later identified as Atlanta Police Department Deputy Chief Kelley Collier, who commands the department’s Community Services Division.³

Ross did not recant her denials until October 10, 2025.⁴ The committee ultimately determined that the relationship took place over roughly two years, from approximately October 2023 to October 2025. It also found she had attended a May 2024 primary election victory party for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, an event the judicial council later characterized as improper partisan political activity.⁵

The Judicial Reprimand That Preceded the Impeachment Push

On February 11, 2026, the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Council imposed a private reprimand on Ross incorporating the committee’s findings. The council found she had engaged in sexual intercourse in her chambers during business hours, creating an “extremely uncomfortable and troubling” workplace, and that the relationship created a conflict-of-interest risk and made her vulnerable to extortion.⁵ Ross was required to write apology letters to her former clerks and barred from serving as chief judge or in other judicial leadership roles. The judiciary opted against harsher discipline, citing her previously “exemplary” service and a belief she was unlikely to reoffend.⁶

The Judicial Conference’s Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability affirmed the order on May 22, 2026, and Chief Judge Pryor’s letters on June 11, 2026, publicly identified Ross as the judge involved.⁷ The congressional impeachment resolutions followed within days, driven by the view that the private reprimand was inadequate for the conduct found.

The fallout also reached Ross’s docket. She was assigned a Department of Justice suit against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over access to voter roll records. On May 29, 2026, the DOJ moved to disqualify her, citing her attendance at the Willis event. Ross recused herself on June 15, 2026, acknowledging that “perceived support of Willis’s position on election integrity could cause an objective observer to significantly doubt the undersigned’s impartiality in this case.” The case was reassigned to U.S. District Judge Victoria Calvert.⁸

The Two Impeachment Resolutions

Two Georgia House Republicans introduced separate resolutions within a day of each other. Both target the same underlying conduct, but they are built differently.

H.Res. 1346, Introduced by Rep. Clay Fuller

Representative Clay Fuller of Georgia’s 14th District filed his resolution on June 8, 2026, with four cosponsors.⁹ It contains a single article focused on Ross’s false statements to investigators, charging that she falsely told Chief Judge Pryor and Northern District Chief Judge Leigh Martin May that she had “never engaged in sexual intercourse in [her] office, nor anywhere else in the Courthouse,” and that those statements had a “detrimental effect on the investigation of misconduct and the administration of the district court.”¹⁰ Fuller said Ross’s actions reflect a “reckless disregard for her professional obligations” and that she is “wholly unfit” to serve.¹¹ According to Reuters, Fuller said he drafted the resolution “with the help of the House Judiciary Committee’s chairman,” Representative Jim Jordan.¹²

H.Res. 1351, Introduced by Rep. Andrew Clyde

Representative Andrew Clyde of Georgia’s 9th District filed a broader resolution the next day, June 9, 2026, with 14 cosponsors including Representatives Lauren Boebert, Buddy Carter, Paul Gosar, and Andy Harris.¹³ Clyde’s resolution contains three articles.

Article I, Improper Sexual Activity, charges that Ross carried on an extramarital affair with Deputy Chief Collier in her chambers during business hours from approximately October 2023 to October 2025, creating an undisclosed conflict of interest, exposing herself to potential extortion, and creating an uncomfortable workplace for at least three clerks who could hear the activity. It cites violations of Canons 2 and 2(A) of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges.⁴

Article II, Partisan Political Activity, charges that Ross attended the Willis campaign event the evening before presiding over a criminal revocation proceeding and told court staff the next morning she had consumed “too many martinis” at the event. It cites Canon 5, which prohibits judges from attending events sponsored by political candidates.¹⁴

Article III, Obstruction of an Official Proceeding, charges that Ross made “numerous, material false statements” during the investigation, including denying the affair, and did not recant until investigators had already gathered significant evidence. It alleges her false statements to federal judges constitute a felony violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 and violate the Judicial-Conduct Rules’ cooperation requirement.⁴ Clyde said Ross’s conduct proves she is “incapable of displaying integrity or impartiality.”¹¹

Where the Resolutions Stand

Both resolutions were referred to the House Judiciary Committee on introduction. As of late June 2026, neither had advanced. The committee had not scheduled hearings or markup sessions, and Chairman Jim Jordan had issued no formal public statement about the resolutions.¹⁴

For an impeachment to proceed, the full House would need to approve articles by a simple majority vote, after which the Senate would conduct a trial requiring a two-thirds vote to convict and remove Ross from office.¹⁵ Ross remains on the bench in the meantime. Neither resolution can, on its own, remove her, suspend her, or reassign her cases; those steps require action by the House, the Senate, or the judiciary itself. The Eleventh Circuit’s private reprimand remains the only discipline she has actually received.

How Judicial Impeachments Usually Go

Impeaching a sitting federal judge is rare but not unprecedented. Throughout U.S. history, 15 federal judges have been impeached by the House, and eight have been convicted by the Senate and removed from office.¹⁶ The most common grounds have included false statements, bribes, tax evasion, and abuse of judicial power. Three additional judges resigned before or during their Senate trials, ending the proceedings.¹⁷

The closest precedent to the Ross situation is the 2009 case of U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent of Texas, the most recent federal judge impeached in connection with sexual misconduct. Kent pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for lying to investigators about sexual abuse of two court employees and was sentenced to 33 months in prison.¹⁸ The House impeached Kent unanimously in June 2009, but he resigned before the Senate completed its trial, and the articles were dismissed. Both Kent and Ross were first disciplined by their circuit judicial councils (Kent received a four-month suspension, Ross a private reprimand), and in both instances members of Congress argued the judicial discipline was insufficient. One important difference: Kent faced criminal charges, while Ross has not been charged with a crime.

The last federal judge actually removed from office was G. Thomas Porteous Jr. in 2010, convicted by the Senate on four counts including accepting bribes and making false statements on financial disclosure forms.¹⁹

1
GovTrack. H.Res. 1346
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CBS News Atlanta. Judge Disciplined for Sex in Chambers and Lying to Investigators Apologizes for Offensive Conduct
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Yahoo News. Atlanta Police Probe Deputy Chief
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U.S. Congress. H.Res.1351 Text
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Bloomberg Law. Eleanor Ross of Atlanta Is Judge Reprimanded for Sex in Chambers
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Slate. Judicial Sex Scandal Impeachment Broken System
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Reason. Chief Judge Pryor’s Non-Order in the Eleanor Ross Judicial Misconduct Proceedings
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Politico. Judge Recuses Herself in Georgia Voter Rolls Case
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U.S. Congress. H.Res.1346
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U.S. Congress. H.Res.1346 Text
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CBS News Atlanta. Georgia Congressmen Fuller, Clyde Seek Impeachment of Atlanta Federal Judge
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Reuters. Republican Lawmaker Seeks Impeach Atlanta Federal Judge Identified Sex Scandal
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Rep. Andrew Clyde. Clyde Files Articles of Impeachment Against Judge Eleanor Ross
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GovInfo. H.Res.1351 Full Text
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U.S. Senate. About Impeachment
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Federal Bar Association. When Federal Judges Are Impeached
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Federal Judicial Center. Impeachments of Federal Judges
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CNN. Judge Impeachment
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Courthouse News Service. Here Are the Eight Federal Judges Who Congress Has Successfully Removed From Office