Washington – Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar said he will decide by Sunday how he will vote next week when the Senate considers Bush’s nomination of John Roberts for Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
But today, he criticized President Bush’s handling of Roberts’ nomination, challenging Bush to make public who he is considering for the next opening on the court.
“I would hope the White House can do a better job than they did with Judge Roberts,” Salazar said during his weekly conference call with reporters.
“I’m hoping the president this time shares the names of the people he has under consideration before he pulls the trigger and says, ‘This is my person,”‘ Salazar said. “They certainly did not share them with me even though I had several conversations before with them. It ought to all be placed on the table.” The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted 13-5 to endorse Roberts, the first of two Supreme Court appointments Bush will make. Many are expecting the next confirmation fight – over who will replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor – to be much tougher.
The White House has said only that Bush’s next nominee will be highly qualified.
The Senate is expected to vote by next Thursday on whether to confirm Roberts.
Salazar, a Democrat considered a pivotal vote, said he will spend part of the weekend at his Colorado ranch examining thousands of pages of transcripts from the last weeks’ confirmation hearings.
He will announce his decision Sunday afternoon from his Denver office.
He met with Roberts for a second time today to get a sense of how the nominee feels about civil rights and other issues.
The 40-minute conference appeared cordial. Salazar greeted Roberts and shook hands in front of a gaggle of reporters and photographers. As he left, Roberts smiled and held up a copy of “Valley of the Dunes,” a coffee table book about Salazar’s native region of Colorado.
“I got a very lovely book,” Roberts said, walking swiftly past reporters.
Salazar said their conversation focused on whether Roberts would erode civil rights decisions the court has made in the past. They discussed landmark cases, such as “Brown v. Board of Education” and whether Roberts would try to encourage diversity on the bench.
“He responded straightforwardly and said he felt that we needed to make sure we are upholding civil rights,” Salazar said. “He talked about his daughter and wanting to make sure his daughter had the same opportunities in life that someone who was a boy or a man would have.” Salazar said he met with Roberts one-on-one in his office. When they finished, he said he told Roberts’ Bush administration escorts he hopes Bush will handle his next nomination better.
Before Bush named Roberts as his choice, Salazar suggested he consider two Coloradans for the opening.
The next nominee should not be “controversial or contentious,” he said today.
“I hope he doesn’t appoint radicals to the bench or people who want to use the position of justice to advance their own personal views,” Salazar said.
