U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts rebuked President Donald Trump on Tuesday for suggesting the way to resolve a court dispute was by impeaching the judge, laying bare tensions between the country's chief executive and the judiciary as Trump's sweeping assertions of power continue to 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 is 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 U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered the administration on Saturday to halt the removal of alleged Venezuelan gang members, which Trump has argued is authorized by an 18th-century law historically used only in wartime.

The judge ordered the return of planes carrying hundreds of the alleged gang members to El Salvador. The administration did not return two planes already in the air, prompting accusations that Trump's administration had defied the court order.

The Trump administration wrote that two flights had departed before the judge's written order was issued and that spoken orders the judge had issued in court before the written notice hit the docket were not enforceable.

"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.

Tensions have been rising in the eight weeks since Trump returned to the White House with the president and his allies publicly criticizing courts for blocking aspects of Trump’s agenda.

The combative atmosphere has raised concerns among some legal experts that the administration might openly defy a court order, possibly sparking a constitutional crisis.

U.S. Marshals have warned judges of heightened threats in recent weeks as administration surrogates have ramped up efforts to discredit judges who stand in the way of White House actions.

On social media, billionaire Elon Musk, a close Trump ally, and Republican lawmakers have described judges as threats to democracy. "The only way to restore rule of the people in America is to impeach judges," Musk wrote in one post.