Washington – Amid talk of a possible compromise, the Senate’s second-most powerful Republican and Democrat each claimed Sunday to have enough support for their side’s position as the chamber neared a showdown over the minority party’s right to block a president’s judicial nominees.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., intends this week to call up for a vote the first of the blocked nominees – Texas Judge Priscilla Owen and California Judge Janice Rogers Brown. Bush nominated both for federal judgeships during his first term, but they and five others were blocked by Democrats.
Should Democrats move this week to block either Brown or Owen, and Republicans fail to break the filibuster, Frist then would call for the Senate to vote on whether to ban use of filibusters against judicial nominees.
Both sides said Sunday they had the votes to prevail, even as they acknowledged that several middle-of-the-road Republicans had yet to say publicly how they would vote.
Frist needs 50 votes to abolish judicial filibusters. If necessary, Vice President Dick Cheney would provide the tie-breaking vote as Senate president.
