The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a motion to remove Federal Judge Eleanor Ross from a lawsuit concerning voter records in Georgia, citing concerns of political bias related to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
According to documents filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on May 30, the DOJ contends that Judge Ross is connected to a previous confidential judicial disciplinary report regarding her attendance at a politically charged victory party for Fani Willis.
An amended report dated December 10, 2025, from the Judicial Council of the 11th Circuit concluded that an “involved judge” violated ethical rules by attending the political event, passing through an area with campaign signs, and later telling staff they had consumed “too many martinis” at the party.
Although the report did not publicly identify the judge, the DOJ noted that multiple media outlets and legal experts this week identified Eleanor Ross as the individual referenced.
According to the DOJ, the incident creates an “appearance of impartiality” given that Judge Ross is presiding over a federal election lawsuit initiated by the Trump administration.
The lawsuit alleges that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger violated the Civil Rights Act of 1960 by refusing to provide an unredacted statewide voter registration list to the Attorney General for the purpose of checking compliance with federal election laws.
The DOJ argues that because Fani Willis has publicly described the prosecution of President Trump related to the 2020 election as a matter of “election integrity,” a judge attending Willis's victory party while presiding over an election-related case would lead the public to doubt the court's impartiality.
The DOJ also requested that a hearing scheduled for June 3 be postponed until the motion to remove the judge is considered.
It is currently unclear whether the court will grant or deny this request.
