Who’s next after Roberts?

WASHINGTON – John Glover Roberts Jr. was sworn in as the 17th chief justice of the United States Thursday, enabling President Bush to put his stamp on the Supreme Court for decades to come, even as he prepares to name a second nominee to the nine-member court.

The White House swearing-in ceremony took place three hours after the Senate voted 78 to 22 to confirm Roberts. All 55 Republicans, half the 44 Democrats and independent Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont voted yes.

The vote reflected the gap between many Senate Democrats and the liberal groups that strongly opposed Roberts and are important to the party’s base. Senators in both parties predicted a much more bruising fight over Bush’s upcoming choice to replace centrist justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Liberal activists said they will expect more spirited opposition from rank-and-file Democrats, but some Republicans said the relative ease of Roberts’ confirmation suggests that opponents will find it extremely difficult to block anyone picked by Bush.

Roberts, 50, will take the justices’ center seat that his mentor, the late William Rehnquist, held for 19 years when the Supreme Court opens its new session Monday.

“The Senate has confirmed a man with an astute mind and a kind heart,” Bush said at the swearing-in. Roberts “will be prudent in exercising judicial power, firm in defending judicial independence and, above all, a faithful guardian of the Constitution.”

The Senate Democrats’ 22-22 split illuminated the influence that presidential politics and red-state, blue-state considerations play in a party struggling to end nearly a decade of unbroken GOP control of Congress. Among those opposing Roberts were presidential aspirants who typically veer to the center but now are eyeing the liberal activist groups that will play key roles in Iowa, New Hampshire and other early-voting states in 2008. They included Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Joseph Biden of Delaware and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. Also voting no were two senators facing potentially tough re-elections next year in states with powerful left-leaning groups: Maria Cantwell of Washington and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

Democrats voting for Roberts included several facing re-election next year in states that Bush carried twice: Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Bill Nelson of Florida, Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Kent Conrad of North Dakota. These and other red-state Democrats who backed Roberts pose the biggest challenge to liberals hoping for a united party front if Bush nominates a staunch conservative next.

Those activists took some comfort Thursday in the belief that Roberts’s conservatism will be similar to Rehnquist’s and therefore the court will change little politically. The stakes are far higher for the next pick, they said, because O’Connor provided the swing vote on many 5-4 decisions. O’Connor will remain on the court until her successor is confirmed.

“The pivotal appointment is the next one,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who opposed Roberts. “The comparison obviously is with O’Connor,” she said, as opposed to the reliably conservative Rehnquist. Asked how much she feared Bush will name someone more conservative than Roberts, she replied: “Very. On a scale of one to 10? Eight and a half.”

Bush is poised to announce his next nomination within days, according to administration officials and GOP strategists. With Wednesday’s indictment of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, creating unwanted headlines, some Republican advisers urged an announcement for today, but sources said that idea was rejected.

Among Republicans close to the White House, the most commonly mentioned candidates in the last couple of days were White House counsel Harriet Miers, former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson and Judge Karen Williams of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Miers, a late addition to the public list, is close to Bush from their Texas days when she was his personal attorney. Thompson, who is African American, is a Bush favorite from the first term. And Williams has impressed many Bush advisers as a strong potential choice.

Also mentioned were appellate judges Alice Batchelder of the 6th Circuit and Priscilla Owen of the D.C. Circuit, as well as Maura Corrigan of the Michigan Supreme Court. If Bush does not opt for a woman or a minority, the leading white male candidates appear to be Michael Luttig of the 4th Circuit and Samuel Alito of the 3rd Circuit.

Some former Bush aides still think he may pick his friend, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, but other Republicans said they believe conservative opposition had undermined him too much to be chosen.