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November 17, 2004
GOP Senators May Exercise 'Nuclear Option' for Judgeships

by Pete Winn, associate editor

Conservative groups pleased that rule change may be in the offing.

Reports on Capitol Hill today indicated that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist may be getting ready to exercise what Congress-watchers call "the nuclear option" when it comes to nominations for the judiciary — a change in Senate rules so that only a simple majority is needed to end a filibuster of a judicial nominee.

And that news is music to the ears of most conservative legal experts frustrated the last few years by Democratic-led efforts to block conservative judicial nominees via filibuster.

"They have changed the rule on cloture before," said Jan LaRue, chief legal counsel for Concerned Women for America. "It used to be 66 votes were required to break a filibuster -- they lowered it to 60. What's unconstitutional about making it a simple 51-vote majority? There are only a few topics on which the Constitution requires a supermajority vote, and invoking cloture to stop a filibuster isn't one of them."

Tom Minnery, vice president of government and public policy at Focus on the Family Action, agreed that a rules change is long overdue.

"We're pleased they are going to change the rules, to revert to what they had been for many, many years — that judicial nominees who plainly have the support of the majority of the Senate, get a vote in that Senate, rather than be bottled up by Senate filibuster," Minnery said.

There is speculation in Washington that the push for the change might be tied to the controversy over Sen. Arlen Specter's presumed ascension to the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which holds hearings on judicial nominees before they are moved to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Specter — who is pro-abortion — has been under fire since Nov. 3, when he said President Bush — who is pro-life — shouldn't nominate any judges who would threaten "a woman's right to choose" to the federal bench.

Pro-family groups have waged a campaign since then to upend Specter's ascension to the chairmanship. That campaign may be falling short, in light of news reports today that prominent senators — including current Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch — have expressed confidence in Specter's leadership.

According to Congressional Quarterly, Specter himself is expected to issue a statement as early as Thursday committing himself to moving President Bush's judicial nominees — even his pro-life judicial nominees — if he becomes chairman.

Minnery said Specter — who has spent much of the last 10 days defending himself to colleagues and party leadership — is almost certain to back the rules change.

"I suspect that Arlen Specter — bobbing and weaving, dancing and jiving to try and get his judiciary committee chairmanship — would be happy to support Sen. Frist's rule change, just to continue to build enough support to get the job he wants," he said.

But, Minnery added, he believes Frist will want the rules of the Senate changed "regardless of anything to do with Arlen Specter."

"Sen. Frist," he explained, "is dedicated to the same kinds of things the president is, including judges who will interpret the Constitution as written, not as the latest fad from leftist law schools dictates."

In any event, Minnery said Focus on the Family Action and other pro-family groups have not changed their opinion about Specter's bid to become the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

"He's a man," Minnery said, "who is plainly out of step with the American people and plainly out of step with the president, who will be submitting nominees to the federal courts that Specter may well object to."