A Twist of Fate for Nominees

They were the lucky ones: five ambassadors, six deputy secretaries, eight undersecretaries and a whopping 22 assistant secretaries.

All won Senate confirmation last week in a huge burst of activity as the outgoing Republican majority scrambled to help the still-nascent Bush administration fill as many positions as possible before Democrats take over the chamber.

Perhaps less fortunate are the dozens of nominees for mid-level administrative posts who--following the announcement by Sen. James M. Jeffords of Vermont that he would leave the GOP, tipping the Senate’s balance of power--have suddenly become more dependent on the goodwill of incoming Democratic committee chairmen and floor leaders.

In this group is former Rep. James E. Rogan (R-Glendale), nominated to be undersecretary of Commerce in charge of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. No one suggests that Rogan’s nomination, which must go through the Judiciary Committee, is in trouble. But his record as a House prosecutor in the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Clinton in 1999 all but guarantees that Rogan will draw a second look from some Democratic senators.

Another nominee, John D. Negroponte, will face close scrutiny in the Foreign Relations Committee about his diplomatic experience in Central America during the Cold War as he seeks to win confirmation to become U.N. ambassador.

Also potentially affected by the Senate transition are those who are soon to be formally nominated or are under consideration for more than 300 unfilled positions. An example is Otto J. Reich, Bush’s announced choice for assistant secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere. He is criticized by some leaders in Latin America as a polarizing figure who pursued hawkish policies toward leftist and communist regimes while serving in the Reagan administration.

Questions about the pace of confirmation for administrative nominees have drawn less notice than the coming battles over Bush nominees for the federal judiciary. But to many GOP lawmakers, filling the new administration with Bush people is an equally important task.

On Wednesday, lame-duck Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said Republicans would press for “assurances of fair treatment” of nominees. Lott, in a radio interview, said: “If they propose to hang up all of Bush’s nominees . . . that’s not going to be acceptable.”

Lott, still smarting over the Jeffords defection, denounced the Vermont senator for launching a “coup of one” by declaring himself an independent aligned with the Democrats. The changeover from a 50-50 Senate to 50-49-1 is expected to take effect next week, when Congress returns from a recess.

One possible point of leverage for Republicans would be to mount a filibuster against attempts by the incoming majority leader, Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), to reorganize Senate committees with a one-seat edge for Democrats. The panels are now evenly divided between the parties. Lott stopped short of saying he would take such a step.

Daschle spokeswoman Ranit Schmelzer said: “It’s not Democrats’ intention to block nominations as a matter of course. That doesn’t mean every nomination will pass. We can’t give a blanket guarantee.”

A White House spokeswoman, who declined to be identified, sidestepped a question about whether Bush is concerned about the effect of the Democratic takeover on his personnel choices.

According to Brookings Institution analysts who track presidential appointments, the Senate has confirmed 117 Bush nominees out of 492 administration posts requiring the chamber’s consent.

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Times staff writers Greg Miller and Janet Hook contributed to this story.