I thought Biden had been fighting this appointment tooth and nail. Something foul is in the works.
My money is on a filibuster. We'll have 56 or 57 votes, but not the 60 to break a filibuster. It would be a high-risk thing for the Dems. A filibuster would be VERY public, and it could reinforce the "no class" impression of the Dems in a number of the states where Bush did pretty well in that have Dems up.
But at the same time, the Dems could try it to publicly trash ALL the nominees, particularly Estrada, without letting them defend themselves.