Washington – Judge Samuel Alito headed toward likely confirmation as the nation’s 110th U.S. Supreme Court justice Thursday after finishing 18 hours of testimony before a Senate panel.
Although a vote will not be taken for at least another week, Republicans claimed victory.
Democrats refused to say whether they would try to block a confirmation. But as moderate Democrats began ruling out a filibuster, confirmation seemed inevitable.
“What we’re seeing is a sort of an air of resignation on the part of the opponents of Judge Alito, the opponents at least in the Senate,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a member of the Judiciary Committee, which is holding the confirmation hearings. “Their heart really isn’t in it. They just don’t have the material to work with. The judge has diffused a lot of the concerns about him.”
With 55 members in the Senate, Republicans have enough votes to confirm Alito. Democrats can only attempt a filibuster to block the vote. Chances of using that filibuster successfully dimmed as two Democrats on a key bipartisan group said they couldn’t see anything to justify the parliamentary maneuver.
“So far, I have seen nothing during my interview with the nominee, the background materials that have been produced or through the committee process that I would consider a disqualifying issue against Judge Alito,” said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., a member of the Senate “Gang of 14.”
Seven Democrats and seven Republicans agreed last year that they would allow filibusters of judicial nominees only in “extraordinary circumstances.”
Another of the group, Democrat Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, said he does not see extraordinary circumstances. “He hasn’t heard that there’s going to be one,” Pryor spokeswoman Lisa Ackerman said. “I don’t think there’s interest in one.”
Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, also a Democrat on the Gang of 14, declined Thursday to say anything about Alito. His spokesman said Salazar wants to read all of the information from the hearings before deciding how to vote.
Other Democrats in the group – Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii – also have yet to decide how to vote. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W. Va., also in the group, could not be reached for comment.
The math of the Senate is such that just five Democrats need to join Republicans to end a filibuster and allow a vote.
During Alito’s final hours of testimony, he faced repeated questions about presidential power. While working in the Rea gan administration, Alito widened the use of presidential signing statements, in which a president writes how he interprets a new law he is signing.
Democrats asked Alito whether President Bush would have the right to invade Iran without congressional approval or whether a president can authorize wiretaps on Americans without a court order. President Bush, without a court order, ordered eavesdropping on Americans as part of terrorism investigations.
Alito demurred, saying he would have to consider the question as a judge, looking at the Constitution, congressional law and arguments on both sides.
“I wouldn’t presume to voice an opinion on that question here,” Alito said when asked about the wiretaps. “I haven’t studied it in depth. I’d need to study it before issuing a judicial opinion on the matter.”
Alito also declined to answer whether denying citizenship to someone born in the United States is unconstitutional. Some lawmakers – including Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo – want to deny citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. The 14th Amendment gives citizenship to babies born in the United States.
