Biden vetoes 66 new federal judgeships, blames ‘hurried’ House action
washington President Biden on Monday vetoed a bipartisan effort to add 66 federal district judgeships, saying the House’s “rush action” left important questions about tenure unanswered.
The legislation would extend the creation of new trial court judges by more than a decade, giving three presidential administrations and six Congresses the opportunity to appoint new judges. The bipartisan effort is carefully designed so that lawmakers do not intentionally give any one party an advantage in shaping the federal judiciary.
The Democratic-controlled Senate unanimously passed the measure in August. But the Republican-led House did not bring the bill to a vote until after Republican Donald Trump was re-elected as president in November, giving the process the veneer of political gamesmanship.
The White House said at the time that Biden would veto the bill.
“The House’s hasty action fails to address key issues in the legislation, particularly the question of how new judgeships will be allocated. Neither the House nor the Senate have adequately explored how the work of senior judges and magistrates affects the need for new judgeships. ,” the president said in a statement.
“Efficient and effective administration of the judiciary requires further study and answers to these questions about demand and allocation before we create permanent judicial positions for tenured judges,” Mr. Biden said.
He said the bill would also create new judgeships in states where senators have yet to fill existing judicial vacancies, and those efforts “suggest that concerns about judicial economics and caseloads are not the real driver of passing this bill now.”
“Therefore, I am vetoing this bill,” Mr. Biden said, essentially dooming the legislation in this Congress. Overriding his veto would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, and the House vote fell well short of that standard.
Organizations representing judges and lawyers urged Congress to vote in favor of the bill. They argue that a lack of new federal judges has led to significant delays in resolving cases and raised serious concerns about access to justice.
Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana quickly reacted, calling the veto a “misguided decision” and “yet another example of Americans counting down the days until President Biden leaves the White House.” he mentioned a Mr Biden recently granted a full pardon to his son Hunter On federal firearms and tax charges.
“The president is more interested in using his office to provide relief to families who have received due process than to provide relief to the millions of ordinary Americans who have waited years for due process,” Yang asserted. “Biden’s legacy will be ‘Pardon me, No justice for you.'”
