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The House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill on Thursday that would create 66 new federal judgeships to address court backlogs, despite a veto threat from President Joe Biden. The legislation, which had already passed the Senate with unanimous support in August, now heads to the president’s desk amid partisan tension.
The bill, backed by the federal judiciary, was initially considered uncontroversial. However, political dynamics shifted following President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory last month. The proposed expansion would mark the first significant increase in federal judgeships since 1990, with the new positions staggered over a decade to limit immediate partisan influence.
The House vote was 236-173, with 29 Democrats crossing party lines to support the measure and two Republicans voting against it.
“While this bill attempts to provide a solution to our backlogged court system, House Democrats should remain clear-eyed on what authorizing a significant number of new, empty judgeships means under a future Trump Administration,” wrote House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., in a note to her colleagues ahead of the vote.
Republicans accused Democrats of opposing the bill purely for partisan reasons. “At that time, Democrats supported the bill — they thought Kamala Harris would win the presidency,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in a statement. “Now, however, the Biden-Harris Administration has chosen to issue a veto threat and Democrats have whipped against this bill, standing in the way of progress, simply because of partisan politics.”
The federal judiciary, which proposed the measure, emphasized its importance. “This measure would improve access to justice in the federal courts and improve judicial administration by adding critically needed new judgeships, while specifying that the appointments are to be spread out over a 10-year period,” said Judge Robert Conrad, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Despite assurances of staggered appointments, Biden’s veto threat cited concerns about its necessity. “The White House believes this legislation is unnecessary to the efficient and effective administration of justice,” a spokesperson said.
If enacted, the bill would allow Trump to appoint 25 of the 66 new judges during his term, raising concerns among Democrats about the judiciary’s future ideological balance.
