Bipartisan talks to add judges to the federal judiciary are over — at least for now.
At a Tuesday morning hearing of the House Judiciary Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee, Republicans and Democrats blamed the other for the demise of a deal last year to add dozens of new judgeships to U.S. courts.
House Republicans failed to bring the agreement, in the form of legislation, up for a vote until after President Donald Trump’s election victory. Following its passage on the House floor, then-President Joe Biden vetoed the legislation in a bid to block Trump from being able to add a host of new conservative judges to the bench.
“In my 24-plus years here in Washington, it was the first time I ever saw a bipartisan, bicameral bill vetoed by a President,” said subcommittee Chair Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). “It didn’t have to happen, and it shouldn’t have happened.”
Both sides conceded that the federal courts are severely understaffed, but it appears that lingering bad feelings will pose an insurmountable obstacle.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member of the full House Judiciary Committee, proposed that lawmakers vote on the same bill that passed last Congress — except the judicial appointments would begin during the next president’s term.
“Itching to appoint loyal MAGA judges to the bench to uphold the lawlessness of Elon Musk and Donald Trump … they are very happy to talk about creating new seats on the federal bench,” Raskin said at the hearing. “Our friends seem to believe today only in, ‘heads I win, tails you lose.’”
That compromise isn’t likely to fly with Republicans who are eager to expand their influence across the judiciary now.
