Senate Republicans Will Renew Fight Over Judges

Human Events, May 1, 2006 by Bluey, Robert B

Long-Stalled Kavanaugh Nomination May Draw Another Democratic Filibuster

After months of inaction on President Bush's appellate court nominees, Senate Republicans have settled on a plan to bring D.C. Circuit Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the floor for a vote later this month.

Kavanaugh, the current White House staff secretary, is slated to be voted out of the Judiciary Committee this week. That would set the stage for a showdown on the Senate floor before the Memorial Day recess.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) formulated the strategy after meetings with several Republican senators, including Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (Pa.) and Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (Ky.). Specter has decided to forgo a second hearing on Kavanaugh, Frist aides said.

Ready to Engage

Frist's decision to move forward with Kavanaugh indicates that he's ready to engage Democrats in a fight over Bush's judicial nominees as he did in 2004. Kavanaugh has waited since 2003 to be confirmed. Conservative groups that have been itching for action on judicial nominees welcomed Frist's decision.

"The obstructionists on the left side of the Senate have blocked this nomination and others far too long," said Jan LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America.

All eyes will now turn to the Democrats, who could choose to filibuster Kavanaugh on the Senate floor. Jim Manley, spokesman for Minority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.), called Kavanaugh a "divisive nominee." He added, "There are a number of Democrats that have concerns about his background and qualifications for this job."

Democrats have built their case against Kavanaugh around three assertions, which Republicans said they can and will rebut:

* Kavanaugh is young and inexperienced. Republicans believe this argument will fall apart when Americans look at Kavanaugh's résumé. Kavanaugh is only 41-years-old, but he has been White House staff secretary since 2003 and prior to that served as associate White House counsel.

* Kavanaugh worked for Ken Starr. It's true that Kavanaugh assisted Starr during his Independent Counsel investigation of President Bill Clinton, but that alone is no basis for disqualifying him. The two also worked together when Starr was U.S. solicitor general.

* Kavanaugh was involved in policy for terrorist detainees. Democrats are sure to bring up the issue of "torture" and use it as their rationale for having a second hearing before the Judiciary Committee. But Kavanaugh doesn't set White House policy, and Frist aides said they believe the charge has little merit.

Gang of 14

The notorious Gang of 14-the seven Republicans and seven Democrats who last year brokered a deal to preserve Senate judicial filibusters while confirming three nominees who Democrats had filibustered-could also play a role in the Kavanaugh confirmation fight. Sen. Mark Pryor (D.-Ark.), a member of the group, told HUMAN EVENTS last week that he simply didn't have enough information to say definitively whether Kavanaugh would pass muster with the group.

rbluey@eaglepub.com