President Biden on Monday rejected a previously bipartisan initiative to introduce 66 additional federal district judgeships. He justified his veto by saying that the rushed proceedings in the House of Representatives left crucial questions unanswered regarding these lifetime appointments.

The proposed legislation would have gradually established new trial court judgeships over more than ten years. This timeline would have allowed three presidential terms and six Congresses the opportunity to appoint these new judges. The proposal was painstakingly crafted to ensure neither political party could unduly influence the formation of the federal judiciary.

The measure was unanimously passed by the Democratic-led Senate in August. However, it was only brought to the floor by the Republican-majority House after Donald Trump won his second term as President in November, adding a layer of political maneuvering to the process.

The Biden administration had previously stated that the President would veto the bill. In a statement, Biden explained that the hurried actions of the House of Representatives left key issues unresolved, particularly concerning the distribution of the new judgeships. He further stated that neither the House nor the Senate fully explored how the work of senior status judges and magistrate judges impacts the need for new judgeships.

Biden also stated that the bill would have led to the creation of new judgeships in states where senators have not filled existing judicial vacancies. This, he suggested, indicates that concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the real driving force behind the legislation. As a result, he vetoed the bill, effectively stalling it in the current Congress. Overriding his veto would necessitate a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, a threshold the House vote did not meet.

Legal groups and organizations representing judges had urged Congress to pass the bill. They argued that the paucity of new federal judgeships has resulted in significant delays in case resolutions and raised serious issues about access to justice.

In response to Biden’s veto, Sen. Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana, swiftly condemned the decision as misguided and criticized Biden’s recent pardon of his son Hunter on federal gun and tax charges. He accused Biden of prioritizing relief for his family members over the millions of regular Americans awaiting their due process.