President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced plans to veto a bipartisan bill that would add 66 federal judgeships, citing concerns over the timing of and motivations for the legislation following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
The bill, known as the JUDGES Act, which passed the Senate unanimously in August, is meant to address a judicial backlog by gradually increasing the number of judges over the next decade. But “concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the true motivating force behind passage of this bill now,” the White House wrote in a statement.
“The bill would create new judgeships in states where Senators have sought to hold open existing judicial vacancies,” the White House statement furthered, adding the “House refused to take it up until after the election.”
The House is set to vote on the measure this week, but the president’s strong rebuke of the bill could mark the beginning of the end for the legislation that previously garnered broad bipartisan support.
Democrats, who initially supported the bill, are now withdrawing their backing. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) criticized Republicans for waiting until after the election, stating, “Donald Trump has made clear he intends to expand presidential power, and this bill hands him another tool to do so.”
Nadler argued that the bill’s staggered implementation, designed to be fair across three administrations, was undermined by GOP tactics.
House Republicans, however, defended their support of the bill.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) called the bill “the right thing to do,” noting that many of the new judges would be appointed in states with Democratic senators, giving them input on nominations. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) also said the need for judges is dire, citing nearly 750,000 pending cases in federal courts.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) told the Washington Examiner on Friday that if the bill was vetoed, Congress could attempt to revive the legislation next year when President-elect Donald Trump is in office.
“You gotta get it through 60 [votes] in the Senate,” Roy said, adding he believes Republicans, which will have a 53-47 seat majority in the Senate, would be able to do that perhaps “through slightly different coalitions” between Democrats and Republicans in the 119th Congress beginning early next year.
“I think Biden and company are probably risking us getting a bill that’s more in our favor,” Roy added.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), expressed disappointment at Biden’s veto threat. “This legislation would resolve the judicial crisis that has Americans waiting years for their day in court,” he said, calling on Biden to reverse his plan and “sign it into law after it passes the House this week.”
President Biden just threatened to veto my JUDGES Act of 2024, which would resolve the judicial crisis that has Americans waiting years for their day in court.
— Senator Todd Young (@SenToddYoung) December 10, 2024
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) accused Biden of acting out of “selfish spite.” Meanwhile, judges across the country have pleaded for additional resources. A recent letter signed by over 300 judges warned that mounting caseloads are eroding public confidence in the judicial system.
Richmond University law professor Carl Tobias told the Washington Examiner he believes that “Biden is correct that the GOP did wait until they knew the election results before showing much interest in the bill … and that certain GOP senators did not work with the White House to find nominees.”
“This and the White House response may simply reflect the ongoing modern ‘Confirmation Wars,’ exemplified by party-line voting, partisanship, polarization and politicization,” Tobias added.
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If the JUDGES Act passed the House and is signed into law by Biden, it would automatically give Trump 11 more judgeship slots to fill in 2025 and 11 in 2027, not including the dozens of vacancies Trump will already have a chance to fill when he returns to the Oval Office. Trump successfully saw the confirmation of 234 federal judges during his first term, with Biden approaching that total, at 231 as of Tuesday.
With Republicans unlikely to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, the likelihood of the bill being signed into law during the 118th Congress appears bleak, though lawmakers like Roy see an opportunity for the revival of this legislation next year, when Republicans will have control of both chambers and the White House.
