Bush would consult Democrats if Supreme Court post opens
June 24, 2005
By Thomas Ferraro,
ReutersWASHINGTON -- The White House said yesterday that President Bush would consult up to a point with Senate Democrats if there is an opening on the US Supreme Court.
"Yes," spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters when asked if Bush would listen to members of the opposition party as well as Republicans in the Senate, who would decide whether to confirm any nominee to the nation's highest court.
But other officials made clear that the White House was not offering Democrats a veto on who Bush would nominate. Bush has said he would nominate conservative judges who strictly interpret the Constitution and do not legislate from the bench.
There has been widespread speculation that there may be a retirement soon on the Supreme Court, giving Bush his first opportunity to make a nomination to that bench.
Senate Democrats sent a letter to Bush yesterday, saying, ''We sincerely hope that you will consult meaningfully with senators on both sides of the aisle well in advance, especially in the event of a Supreme Court vacancy."
In doing so, they cited a recent bipartisan truce on the Republican president's most contentious appeals court nominees that urged such consultations.
The accord, signed by seven Democrats and seven Republicans, averted a showdown on a threatened Senate rule change to ban filibusters against judicial nominees. Under the agreement, confirmation votes were cleared for some of Bush's appeals court nominees, and Democrats reserved the right to filibuster other candidates ''under extraordinary circumstances."
The strength of the accord may be tested by Bush's first nomination to the high court, particularly if Democrats view the candidate as too conservative and out of the mainstream of legal thinking.
Senate Democrats complain that Bush, unlike his predecessors, has not conferred with members of both sides of the political aisle in making judicial nominations.
"Bipartisan consultation is the best path to a fair and reasoned confirmation process," they wrote Bush.
At the White House, McClellan said: "When it comes to judicial nominees, we have consulted with the Senate on nominations. And I would expect if there were a Supreme Court nominee, the president would listen to members of the Senate."
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