President Biden on Monday vetoed a bill that would have added 66 federal district judges over a decade. The bill, once bipartisan, was designed to give neither political party an advantage in shaping the federal judiciary.
According to the bill, three presidential administrations, including the incoming Trump administration, and six Congresses would have the opportunity to appoint new judges with the support of groups representing judges and lawyers. was.
Despite claims by groups that adding more judges would help resolve long-overdue cases and alleviate concerns about access to justice, the White House said Biden could veto the bill. announced that it would be launched.
Biden said in a statement that he made the decision because “hasty action” by the House of Representatives left unanswered questions about the “tenured-for-life” post.
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President Joe Biden speaks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, on December 10, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)
“The House’s hasty action fails to resolve key issues in the bill, particularly regarding how new judgeships will be allocated, and neither the House nor the Senate will discuss how the duties of senior judges and magistrates will affect the need for judges. We haven’t given enough thought to whether we’re going to give a new judge a term,” Biden said.
“Efficient and effective administration of justice requires further study and answering of these questions of need and apportionment before creating a permanent bench of judges for life,” Biden added. .
The White House announced Monday that Biden had vetoed a bill that would have added 66 federal district judges over a decade. (Pete Marovich/Getty Images, File)
He said the bill would create new judgeships in states where senators have not yet filled existing judicial vacancies, adding that such efforts were “concerns about judicial economics and caseloads that are driving this bill at this point.” “It suggests that’s not the real motive behind its passage.”
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When Biden’s plans to veto the bill emerged earlier this month, Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) told America’s Newsroom that the bill was “the last jerk of a lame duck.” ” he said.
“President Biden and his team do not want to allow this bill to pass just because it allows a Republican administration to appoint some judges,” Kennedy said.
“I wish he would have put country first,” the senator added.
The bill was passed unanimously by the Democratic-controlled Senate in August, but the Republican-led House of Representatives passed the bill only after Donald Trump was re-elected as president in November, and is subject to political maneuvering. An atmosphere was created.
Biden’s veto would effectively shelve the bill currently in Congress.
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Overriding Biden’s veto would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers, but the House vote fell well short of that margin.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
