President Biden on Monday vetoed a bill that would have added 66 federal judgeships over more than a decade, a bipartisan effort aimed at ensuring that neither political party would have an advantage in shaping the federal judiciary.
Three presidential administrations, starting with the incoming Trump administration, and six Congresses would have had the opportunity to appoint new lower court judges, according to the legislation, which had support from organizations representing judges and lawyers.
Despite the organizations’ arguments that creating additional judges would help cases that have seen serious delays in resolution and ease concerns about access to justice, the White House said Biden would veto the bill.
Biden said in a statement that he made his decision because the “hasty action” by the House of Representatives left open questions about the “lifetime” positions.
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President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., on December 10, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/archive photo)
“The House’s hasty action failed to resolve key questions in the legislation, particularly regarding how new judges would be allocated, and neither the House nor the Senate fully explored how the work of senior judges and magistrate judges impacts the need for new judges,” Biden said.
“The efficient and effective administration of justice requires that these questions of need and allocation be further studied and answered before permanent judges are created for judges who remain in office for life,” Biden added.
Biden vetoed a bill that would have added 66 federal district judge positions over more than a decade, the White House announced Monday. (Pete Marovich/Getty Images, File)
He said the bill would also have created new judiciaries in states where senators had not filled existing judicial vacancies, and that these efforts “suggest that concerns about judicial economics and caseloads are not the real driving force behind passing this bill now.”
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When Biden’s plan to veto the legislation emerged earlier this month, Sen. John Kennedy, R-Los Angeles, told America’s Newsroom that the act was “the last spasm of the lame duck.”
He added: “President Biden and his team do not want to allow it to become law just because the Republican administration will appoint some judges.” Kennedy said.
“I hope they put the country first,” the senator added.
The legislation passed unanimously in August in the Democratic-controlled Senate, although the Republican-led House did not introduce the measure until after Donald Trump was re-elected as president in November, creating an atmosphere of political gamesmanship.
Biden’s veto essentially delays the legislation before the current Congress.
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Overriding Biden’s veto would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, and the House vote was well short of that margin.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
