Bush Drops Clinton Nominees --Black Judge’s Fate Unknown

President Bush has officially dumped the last of his predecessor’s leftover nominations, raising questions about the future of the first black appellate judge in the circuit with the most minorities in the nation.

But the president left the door open that Roger Gregory--the first black judge on the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., when appointed temporarily by then-President Clinton--could get to keep his job.

“Some of these individuals will be considered for positions in the Bush administration,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Bush withdrew 62 executive and judicial nominations made by Clinton. The U.S. 4th circuit is a Southern district that has more minorities than any other.

“President Clinton appointed a highly qualified, well-respected lawyer in Roger Gregory,” said Julia Payne, Clinton’s spokeswoman. “It’s clear that Roger Gregory met every qualification to be on this court except for the right-wing litmus test.”

Clinton gave Gregory a recess appointment after the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to consider him last year. But the recess appointment allows Gregory to serve only until the end of the year, so Clinton renominated him and some other judicial candidates not considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee before he left office.

The decision to withdraw the Clinton judicial nominees comes as Bush starts to look at filling the remaining vacancies with his own nominees. A committee of senior administration officials led by White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales has interviewed more than 50 candidates in a drive to fill nearly 100 vacancies with judges who share Bush’s conservative philosophy.