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From Fox News: President Biden on Monday vetoed a bill that would have added 66 federal district judgeships over a span of more than a decade, a once-bipartisan effort designed so that neither political party would have an advantage in molding the federal judiciary.
Three presidential administrations, beginning with the incoming Trump administration, and six Congresses would have had the opportunity to appoint the new trial court judgeships, according to the legislation, which had support from organizations representing judges and attorneys.
Despite arguments from the organizations that additional judgeships would help with cases that have seen serious delays in resolution and ease concerns over access to justice, the White House said that Biden would veto the bill.
In a statement, Biden said he made his decision because the “hurried action” by the House of Representatives left open questions about “life-tenured” positions.
The Democrat-controlled Senate had unanimously passed the legislation in August, (likely expecting Kamala Harris would win the election), then the Republican-led House brought the measure to the floor after Donald Trump was reelected president in November.
Now it has been vetoed. Overturning the veto would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate.
The White House released the following statement from Joe Biden:
I am returning herewith without my approval S. 4199, the “Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act of 2024” or the “JUDGES Act of 2024.”
S. 4199 seeks to hastily add judgeships with just a few weeks left in the 118th Congress. The House of Representative’s hurried action fails to resolve key questions in the legislation, especially regarding how the new judgeships are allocated, and neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate explored fully how the work of senior status judges and magistrate judges affects the need for new judgeships. The efficient and effective administration of justice requires that these questions about need and allocation be further studied and answered before we create permanent judgeships for life-tenured judges.
S. 4199 would create new judgeships in States where Senators have sought to hold open existing judicial vacancies. Those efforts to hold open vacancies suggest that concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the true motivating force behind passage of this bill now.
Therefore, I am vetoing this bill.
As expected, Biden has vetoed the JUDGES Act, which would have added 66 judgeships over the next decade.
The bill, which passed the Senate in Aug, lost Dem support after Trump won, and Republicans waited to move it until after the election. https://t.co/14qE28TKgA
— Suzanne Monyak (@SuzanneMonyak) December 24, 2024
Biden vetoes bill that would have given Trump more judicial seats to fill https://t.co/VtW6BmaldX
— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 24, 2024
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