President Biden made good on his threat and vetoed a bipartisan bill Monday to add 66 new judges to federal courts that were seen as understaffed.
Biden claimed the bill was “too hurried” in garnering congressional approval — but some observers said he was likely predominantly concerned about the appointments President-elect Donald Trump might be able to make to the posts once in office.
The JUDGES Act would have gradually increased the number of federal judgeships in 13 states through 2035 in the largest US judiciary expansion since 1990.
“The House of Representative’s hurried action fails to resolve key questions in the legislation, especially regarding how the new judgeships are allocated,” Biden, 82, said in a statement on his veto Monday.
“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.”
Biden had already threatened to flex his veto power, warning he would make the move just two days before the legislation cleared the GOP-led House on Dec. 12.
There had been bipartisan support for the measure, and scores of judges appointed from both parties publicly championed the bill, noting how their caseload has surged more than 30% in the past three decades.
Under the proposed act, new judges would have been added in 25 federal district courts in six waves on a two-year basis through 2035.
The system of adding new judges on a staggered basis was intended to allay fears of one president or party reaping the benefits of the expansion, a longstanding sticking point in efforts to beef up the federal judiciary.
Biden did not mention Trump by name in his veto, but some observers speculated that the incoming president’s forthcoming return to the White House loomed large.
The Democratic-led Senate backed the measure in August, but the House did not wrangle it through until after Trump’s victory Nov. 5.
By that time, some House Democrats had grown squeamish, knowing Trump would be in a potential position to make appointments after January. But the bill still managed to clear the lower chamber, in a 236 to 173 vote, with 171 Democrats and two Republicans opposed.
To overcome Biden’s veto, Congress would need a two-thirds majority in both chambers. The House for one was clearly far short of that threshold.
Biden has issued just over a dozen vetoes throughout his presidency, the most since Bill Clinton.
On Monday, Biden also signed the $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), despite liberal consternation over provisions barring the use of those funds to provide transgender surgeries on children.
The outgoing president underscored his strong opposition to the anti-transgender provision of the NDAA but praised other parts of the legislation such as the increased benefits for military service members, such as the 4.5% pay hike.
“The provision targets a group based on that group’s gender identity and interferes with parents’ roles to determine the best care for their children,” Biden said of the transgender portion.
“No service member should have to decide between their family’s health care access and their call to serve out nation.”