Washington – President Biden on Monday vetoed a one-time bipartisan effort to add 66 federal district judges, saying the “hasty action” by the House left key questions about the lifetime positions unanswered.
This legislation would have spread out the establishment of new trial court judgeships over a decade to give three presidential administrations and six Congresses the opportunity to appoint new judges. The bipartisan effort was carefully crafted so that lawmakers would not intentionally give either political party an advantage in shaping the federal judiciary.
The Democratic-controlled Senate passed the measure unanimously in August. But it was only after Republican Donald Trump was re-elected to a second term as president in November that the Republican-led House brought it up in the House, adding a veneer of political gamesmanship to the process.
The White House said at the time that Mr. Biden would veto the bill.
“The House of Representatives' hasty action fails to resolve important questions in the law, particularly how new judgeships are allocated, and neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate fully explored how senior status judges and The work of magistrate judges impacts the need for new judgeships,” the President said in a statement.
Mr. Biden said, “The efficient and effective administration of justice requires that these questions about need and allocation be further studied and answered before creating permanent judgeships for lifetime judges.”
He said the bill would also create new judgeships in states where senators have not filled existing judicial vacancies and that those efforts “reveal that concerns about the judicial economy and caseload now exist with the passage of this bill.” There is no real driving force behind it.
“Therefore, I am vetoing this bill,” Mr. Biden said, essentially dooming the legislation for the current Congress. Overturning 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. He argued that the shortage of new federal judges has contributed to huge delays in resolving cases and serious concerns about access to justice.
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., called the veto a “misguided decision” and “yet another example of why Americans are counting down the days until President Biden leaves the White House.” he pointed to a The full pardon Mr. Biden recently granted his son Hunter On federal gun and tax charges.
Young asserted, “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 regular Americans who have waited years for their due process.” Are doing.” “Biden's legacy will be 'Forgiveness for me, no justice for you.'”
The Senate confirms two more of Mr Biden's nominees for federal judiciary On Friday – he has got a total of 235 points since he took office and has gone beyond number of federal judges Approved during the first term of President-elect Donald Trump.
Mr Biden said in a statement at the time: “Judges matter. They shape the everyday lives of Americans, defend our liberties and protect our liberties. They hear cases and I am proud of that legacy. which i our country Will leave with the judges of.
Contributed to this report.