Showdown on judges likely Frist to push for confirmation of long-delayed nominees

WASHINGTON ? Setting the stage for a politically charged showdown, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announced Friday he will press for confirmation beginning next week of President Bush’s long-stalled appeals court nominees, seeking to strip Democrats of their ability to block final votes.

“It is time for 100 senators to decide the issue of fair up-or-down votes for judicial nominees after over two years of unprecedented obstructionism,” Frist’s office said in a statement. Two women, Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown, will be “nominees of focus,” it said.

After weeks of jockeying, Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada said he was ready.

“The time has come for Republican senators to decide whether they will abide by the rules of the Senate, or break those rules for the first time in 217 years,” he said in a written statement.

The announcement cleared the way for a momentous showdown that blends constitutional and political issues ? the meaning of Congress’ power to advise and consent in a president’s nominees and the ability of a political minority to influence the outcome. And while the clash nominally applies only to appeals court judges that Democrats oppose, Republicans hope to use it to eliminate their ability to block a vote on any future Supreme Court nominee.

At the same time, the GOP timetable leaves ample room for continued negotiations. Frist, R-Tenn., and Reid have been engaged in talks to avert a showdown, searching for a compromise that could allow the blocked nominees the yes-or-note votes Republicans want while preserving the right of Democrats to block action on future nominees. For his part, Reid has publicly offered to permit confirmation of two of three 6th Circuit nominees who have been filibustered, as well as one from a group of four others similarly stalled.

One Senate aide said that the Democratic leader has indicated a willingness to consider an additional concession ? the confirmation of a second candidate from that group of four.

Republicans hold 55 seats in the Senate and can afford five defections and still prevail in the showdown on the strength of Vice President Dick Cheney’s tie-breaking vote. So far, GOP Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island have announced they will break ranks, and many vote-counters say they expect GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine to vote with the Democrats.

Democrats also are particularly optimistic that Sen. John Warner, R-Va., will side with them, and they continue court enough wavering Republicans to tip the balance. They include Susan Collins of Maine, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. In a reflection of the importance attached to the confirmation battles, interest groups on both sides of the issue have aired television advertisements, conducted polling and targeted wavering senators with grass-roots lobbying efforts. Frist said the focus of GOP efforts beginning next Tuesday or Wednesday will be on two women. Owen was first nominated in 2001 to serve as a judge for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Rogers Brown was tapped in 2003 to serve on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.