Washington – President Biden on Monday vetoed a bipartisan effort to add 66 federal district judges, saying the House’s “rushed action” left important questions unanswered about the lifetime appointments.
The legislation would have extended the establishment of new trial court judges for more than a decade to give three presidential administrations and six Congresses the chance to appoint the new judges. The bipartisan effort was carefully designed so that lawmakers would not knowingly give either political party an advantage in shaping the federal judiciary.
The Democratic-controlled Senate approved the measure unanimously in August. But the Republican-led House brought it up only after Republican Donald Trump was re-elected to a second term as president in November, adding the political game face to the process.
The White House had said at the time that Mr. Biden would veto the bill.
“The House’s hasty action does not resolve key issues in the legislation, particularly regarding how new judicial positions are assigned, and neither the House nor the Senate fully explored how the judges’ work of high rank and of magistrates affects the need for new magistrates,” the president said in a statement.
“The efficient and effective administration of justice requires that these questions of need and allocation be studied and answered further before creating permanent judgeships for perpetuity judges,” Biden said.
He said the bill would also have created new judicial positions in states where senators have not filled existing judicial vacancies and that those efforts “suggest that concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the real driving force of passing this bill now.
“So I’m vetoing this bill,” Biden said, essentially dooming the legislation to the current 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 margin.
Organizations representing judges and lawyers had urged Congress to vote in favor of the bill. They argued that the lack of new federal judges had contributed to deep delays in resolving cases and serious concerns about access to justice.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., quickly reacted, calling the veto a “wrong decision” and “another example of why Americans are counting down the days until President Biden leaves the White House.” He has alluded to Mr. Biden recently granted a full pardon to his son Hunter on federal weapons and tax charges.
“The president is more excited to use his office to provide relief to his family members who have received due process than to provide relief to the millions of ordinary Americans who wait years for their dues process,” Young said. “Biden’s legacy will be ‘forgiveness for me, not justice for you.'”