Furious lobbying over filibuster battle
WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans on Tuesday picked Texas judge Priscilla Owen to be the flashpoint of a historic battle between President Bush and Senate Democrats over shaping the federal judiciary, with a final showdown looming early next week.
A small group of moderate senators worked furiously behind the scenes to head off a clash over whether the parliamentary tactic of the filibuster can be used to block judicial nominees. If majority Republicans opt to change the rules to disallow filibusters of judicial nominees – a move dubbed the “nuclear option” – parliamentary warfare between Democrats and Republicans could escalate and stall Bush’s legislative agenda.
After meeting with Owen and California judge Janice Rogers Brown – who were blocked by Democrats during Bush’s first term – Republicans announced that Owen’s nomination for an appeals court seat will be the vehicle for the attempt to prohibit Democrats from filibustering judicial nominations.
The two women, who are among Bush’s most-wanted judicial nominees, met with the president at the White House and later with Senate GOP leaders at the Capitol.
The meetings came a day before Frist planned to bring Owen’s nomination back to the Senate floor for confirmation. While debate on Owen’s nomination will begin today, Republican aides said a test vote on her nomination to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans was expected early next week.
If that vote is not successful, then Frist plans to call a vote on banning judicial filibusters, aides said.
Frist insists all judicial nominees deserve confirmation votes. But Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada has refused to give up Democrats’ ability to block Supreme Court and lower court nominees they consider too extreme. Court watchers think a Supreme Court vacancy could happen sometime this year.
Democrats have prevented final votes on 10 of Bush’s first-term appeals court nominees and have threatened to do the same this year to seven the president renominated, including Brown and Owen.
Frist has threatened to try to block the Democrats’ filibuster, a device that can be overcome only by a majority of 60 votes or higher.
Just 51 votes are needed to approve a nominee once a vote is called in the 100-member Senate – and only 50 if the vice president, who breaks ties, votes in favor of a nominee.
Frist could prevail with 50 votes supporting his move to rule filibusters out of order when used to block a confirmation vote because Vice President Dick Cheney has said he will break a tie in favor of ending judicial filibusters.
Neither side appears certain it has enough votes to prevail if the issue is put to a test.