At least twice a month, Chief Judge Troy Nunley said he or another active judge makes the three-hour drive from Sacramento to Fresno, California, to help tackle the heavy caseload there.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, where Nunley sits, is one of several severely understaffed district courts across the United States. So Nunley said he was dispirited when he heard news Tuesday that President Joe Biden had threatened to veto a bill that would help those courts.