Weekly Newsletter:  Recently, President Biden made a decision that was – and I do not say this lightly – disgraceful.

Recently, President Biden made a decision that was – and I do not say this lightly – disgraceful.

He vetoed an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill that would have created more than 60 new federal judgeships to handle the growing backlog of cases in America’s federal court system. The story behind how and why this happened tells you much about what’s wrong with American politics and why No Labels’ work to empower the middle is so important.

I have spent decades practicing law and trying cases at all levels, and I strongly believe in the importance of an independent, fully functioning court system. If America loses that, we lose our democracy.

Over 630,000 civil cases and more than 110,000 criminal cases are currently pending in America’s federal court system. A key driver of this backlog is that we do not have enough judges to hear cases. If you want more details on how serious this is, click here to read a new post from the No Labels policy team ([link removed] ) .

To rectify this problem, a bipartisan group of Senators led by Senator Todd Young started working in early 2024 on a bill to add more federal district judgeships. Since America’s founding, Congress has often increased the number of federal judgeships to accommodate a growing population and federal caseload, but the last expansion was in 1990.

The bipartisan bill this Senate group produced – the JUDGES Act – was about as thoughtful and bipartisan a bill as you can imagine. It would stagger these new judicial appointments over the next decade so that no president (or party) would get an unfair opportunity to pack the courts. Ultimately, this bill passed the Senate UNANIMOUSLY. The House later passed it 236-173.

The only explanation for President Biden’s veto of this bill is pure politics and a desire to prevent a new president from making necessary judicial appointments. To be clear, House Republicans also hold some responsibility for this sad outcome. The House could have easily voted on this bill before the November election but waited until after the election when it was clear President-elect Trump had won. Ultimately, President Biden and House Republican leadership asked the wrong question:

What is best for my party? They should have asked what is best for the country, and the answer is obvious: Pass legislation to hire new judges to clear the backlog in our court system.

I hope the JUDGES Act will pass in 2025. In the meantime, I hope this episode reminds you why No Labels’ work is so important. We are working to elevate and support those leaders who put the country's interest first. I hope you will share this note with friends and family who you think might be interested in joining No Labels.

Our work is so important, and we have so much to do in 2025.

Sincerely,

Dan Webb

Let’s Try Something Different in How We Deal With Trump ([link removed] )

By Tom Suozzi

This time in history is both a warning and an opportunity. My New Year’s resolution is to rise above partisanship and bickering, reject extremism and embrace common sense and keep building relationships with Republicans and Democrats to get things done. I’ll work with anyone who wants to solve problems and make things better for people, but I’ll never abandon my values.

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Waiting for Justice ([link removed] )

By Peyton Lofton

Less than a month before he’s scheduled to leave office, President Biden has vetoed a commonsense, bipartisan bill to expand the federal judiciary to reduce a growing backlog of cases. This is what happened, and how it illustrates what’s wrong with Washington.

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