DENVER—Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, one of 14 senators who broke a logjam of judicial appointments in the 2005 “Gang of 14” compromise, said Thursday the White House has failed to consult with him on appointments to the federal district court in Denver.
“I have not been consulted with by the White House in any way, shape or form on these judicial nominations,” said Salazar, a Democrat. “In my view, it’s a violation of our understanding with the president and the requirement of the Constitution.”
Salazar and 13 other moderate senators reached a compromise in 2005 to prevent a Democratic attempt to filibuster the confirmation of conservative appellate court candidates nominated by President Bush.
The group agreed that the Constitution requires consultation with both senators from a state, Salazar said.
The comments came as Salazar, a Democrat, and the state’s senior Sen., Republican Wayne Allard, squared off Thursday over judicial nominees for posts in Denver.
Congress recently added two federal judgeships in Denver to keep up with a backlog of cases. A third vacancy arose this month with the death of U.S. District Judge Phillip S. Figa.
With pressure mounting to supply the president with names of potential judges, Allard said Thursday that he and Salazar could not agree on candidates after beginning discussion in September.
Allard said he had proposed a list of four candidates that included a Democrat, an undecided and two Republicans—one of which was endorsed by Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter, a former Denver district attorney.
But Allard said Salazar, a Democrat, was unhappy with the list. Allard said he submitted the names anyway.
“We felt at that particular time that he wasn’t going to be negotiating with us and we were facing somebody who wanted to delay the process,” Allard said.
Allard said the president has already vetted the names he submitted and is ready to release them.
Salazar said of the four names Allard brought to him, “I had never heard of three of the names.”
The junior senator sent a letter to President Bush Thursday asking to be consulted on the appointments and announcing an eight-member, bipartisan panel to select candidates.
“I ask that I be consulted directly regarding any individuals you are considering,” Salazar wrote, “with ample time given for me to evaluate the potential nominees and provide a meaningful response before any formal FBI clearance is initiated.”
Allard said he was not consulted on the letter.
“We felt a little blind-sided” by Salazar’s announcement, Allard said. “We’ve instructed the president to go ahead and release those names of the first two vacancies as soon as possible.”
A call to the White House was not immediately returned Thursday night.
