Bush Pressed On Nominees

Seeking to raise the stakes in the confirmation process, Senate Republicans and some conservative activists are actively encouraging President Bush to mount a more forceful attack against Democrats over the judicial nomination process.

At a Thursday meeting between Bush and Congressional GOP leaders, Republican Policy Committee Chairman Larry Craig (Idaho) said he and Minority Whip Don Nickles (Okla.) pointedly raised the judicial nomination issue, along with a list of other "must do's and priorities."

Craig said they asked Bush to become more engaged in the process by pressuring Senate Democrats to confirm judges and by accelerating the pace of appointments.

"I didn't hear any objection at all," Craig said, adding, "You're going to find the White House increasingly involved. What I heard [from White House officials] was the intent to become increasingly involved."

A week before the Craig-Nickles plea on judges, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer signaled that Bush was not yet ready for a full-scale fight with Majority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-S.D.) and Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) over the thorny issue.

"It's only fair to allow the Senate its due deliberation," Fleischer told Roll Call.

Fleischer didn't blame Leahy, whom he called "thoughtful" and "fair," for holding up the process, noting that "many of the judicial nominations were made towards the end of July."

At the same time, though, Fleischer said Bush would be prepared to fight if Democrats drag their feet. "He'll make the case for his nominees."

The debate over how to push for confirmation of judicial nominees has become a central focus in GOP quarters, intertwined with the appropriations process and potentially a major roadblock to the efforts to conclude the Congressional session.

Republicans blocked Daschle's effort to move the Commerce, Justice, State and the judiciary appropriations bill last week until Democrats gave an assurance that Leahy would move judicial nominees in a "regular" order.

Democrats contend they are moving judges as swiftly as possible, having already confirmed two circuit court judges with another on the verge of passing this week and several more possible before the year ends. In the first year of the Clinton administration, just three circuit court judges were confirmed. In 1989 then President George Bush saw five of his circuit court nominees confirmed.

"The Democratic leadership has been very accommodating, very cooperative," Daschle said Friday.

And Leahy said more nominees could have been confirmed if not for Bush's decision to remove the American Bar Association from the initial rating process for prospective judges, a step that is now handled once the nomination is sent to the panel.

Republican delays in the committee reorganization process after Democrats seized the majority took a month out of the committee calendar, Leahy contends.

"The Judiciary Committee has made up for lost time," said David Carle, Leahy's spokesman.

Carle warned that a rhetorical war from the White House would only hamper the confirmation process, making consensus difficult on some of the most controversial nominees. "The more consensus building there is, the more nominees the Senate will be able to confirm," he said.

"The polarization that some Republicans seem to be calling for is a prescription for fewer confirmations, not more."

However, Republicans countered that they want to see all 44 of the judicial nominees who were sent to Capitol Hill prior to the August recess confirmed before adjournment, a standard they say applied to past administrations in their first year.

To date, just four of those 44 nominees have been confirmed, leaving Republicans complaining that there isn't enough time to have hearings on the nominees and confirm them.

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said he had to approach Leahy directly Thursday to ask about the status of U.S. District Judge Charles W. Pickering Sr. of Mississippi, who was nominated to be a United States circuit judge for the Fifth Circuit. Pickering, the father of Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.), received a "well-qualified" rating from the American Bar Association on July 23, but has yet to have his hearing scheduled, according to a GOPsource.

Lott said he is not happy about the status of Pickering and state Supreme Court Justice Michael P. Mills, up for a district court slot.

"I talked to [Leahy Thursday], and he said, 'Well, you hadn't talked to me!' I said, 'First of all, I don't want to ask for preferential treatment for our judges in Mississippi. Secondly, I'd assumed you'd get around to it. But I'm going to notice now that you may not. And I need to know what's going on,'" Lott said.

That's why some conservatives are calling for Bush to use the presidential powers of political persuasion on the issue, hoping he will emulate former President Bill Clinton, who often accused Senate Republicans of extremism for moving slow on female and minority nominees.

"If this continues to get worse, the White House is going to have to use the bully pulpit to protect their nominees," said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on the courts.

"We're very exited about his nominees. But a president who is very serious about his nominees will not only nominate them but he will fight for them," said Thomas L. Jipping, director of the Judicial Selection Monitoring Project of the Free Congress Foundation.

Jipping said most conservative activists have little faith in the Senate Republican leadership's ability to, on its own, create enough political pressure to pass the nominees, having seen Daschle and the Democrats win many of the endgame battles of the past few years. "If the President leaves it up to the Republicans in the Senate, he's not going to be successful," Jipping predicted.

But Senate Republicans say they are ready to do battle for their nominees, with or without a frontal attack by the White House. Craig said the GOP is ready to block more appropriations bills if Daschle and Leahy don't live up to their agreement to move more nominees.

"We don't want to do that, but that certainly is the right of the minority," Craig said. "I believe we have the 41 votes to cause certain actions."

Leahy thoughtful? Please. He is thoughtful only in trying to figure out how to screw the White House and President Bush. And the scene between Trent Lott and Leahy was unbelievable. The judges have been nominated, why do the senators from those states have to crawl to Leahy and ask about the hearing schedule?

The Democrats are whining about not enough time to left in the term to schedule hearings for the nominees, but they scheduled Barbara Mukulski and the contraceptive coverage for federal employees today, also some hearing on anti-aging stuff. But judicial nominees? Forget it. Thanks a lot Jeffords.

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