House passes bill under Biden's veto threat that would give Trump more federal judge appointments

The White House released a statement earlier this week that President Biden would veto the bill if it came to his desk. 

Now, however, key Democrats are backing away from the bill after Trump won the presidency, decrying how it was not voted on until after Election Day. 

"At that time, Democrats supported the bill - they thought Kamala Harris would win the Presidency," he added. "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. This should not be a political issue - it should be about prioritizing the needs of the American people and ensuring the courts are able to deliver fair, impartial, and timely justice."

The proposal passed the House on Thursday by a 236 to 173 vote, with 29 Democrats voting in favor of it. 

The bill's Democratic co-sponsor in the House, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said in a floor speech Thursday before the vote that he now opposes the measure. 

On Tuesday, the White House said while "judicial staffing is important to the rule of law," the JUDGES Act is "unnecessary to the efficient and effective administration of justice." "The bill would create new judgeships in states where Senators have sought to hold open existing judicial vacancies," the statement said. "Those efforts to hold open vacancies suggest that concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the true motivating force behind passage of this bill now. In addition, neither the House nor the Senate fully explored how the work of senior status judges and magistrate judges affects the need for new judgeships.""Further, the Senate passed this bill in August, but the House refused to take it up until after the election. Hastily adding judges with just a few weeks left in the 118th Congress would fail to resolve key questions in the legislation, especially regarding how the judges are allocated," the White House added. 

Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Todd Young, R-Ind., co-sponsored the bill in the Senate. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.