GOP Senators File Motion to End Debate Over Jurist

Republicans filed a motion Friday to end debate on the nomination of Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla R. Owen to the federal bench, a move starting the countdown to the so-called nuclear option.

The motion schedules for Tuesday the long-anticipated showdown over whether Democrats have the right to use the parliamentary tactic known as the filibuster to block presidential judicial nominations.

Before filing the motion, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) accused Democrats of exaggerating when they call the dispute a “constitutional crisis.”

“This is a controversy but not a crisis,” Cornyn said. “And I hope that in the coming days, we will complete our debate and resolve the controversy in a respectful manner, consistent with the greatest traditions of the United States Senate.”

The Republican push to ban the filibuster for judicial nominees has become known as the nuclear option because of the partisan discord it would spark in the Senate. Democrats, for instance, have threatened to stall much of the chamber’s business if the ban is adopted.

A group of a dozen senators held out hope Friday of averting the showdown by refusing to lend their votes to either side.

Six Republicans and six Democrats are discussing a draft agreement under which Democrats would pledge not to use the filibuster in the future except under “extraordinary circumstances.” In return, Republicans would pledge not to lend their votes to the effort to change the filibuster rules, unless at some point they thought the Democrats had violated the spirit of the agreement. In addition, five of seven Bush nominees to the federal appellate courts would be given confirmation votes.

And the senators would call on the White House to consult with the chamber before submitting nominations, especially those to the Supreme Court. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), has revived a proposal to have the Senate Judiciary Committee, perhaps with the advice of an independent commission, provide the president with a list of potential nominees who would have bipartisan support.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said Friday that perhaps 80% of senators, though unwilling to buck party leaders by signing on to the compromise, nonetheless hoped it would succeed.

Senate Republican and Democratic leaders have said they would accept no deal that would violate their principles: for Republicans, that all judicial nominees be allowed confirmation votes that are decided by a simple majority; for Democrats, that no changes be made in the rules governing the filibuster.

The filibuster is the right of senators to engage in extended debate on an issue. It takes 60 votes to end debate in the 100-seat chamber.

The debate on Owen’s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans began Wednesday. Democrats are attempting to thwart a confirmation vote because they view her as an “extremist” conservative.

Democrats have used the filibuster threat to block 10 of Bush’s appellate court nominees during his first term, while allowing votes on about two dozen. Bush renominated seven of them, including Owen and California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown.

Republicans say using the filibusters on so many nominees is unprecedented and breaks 200 years of tradition. Democrats say the president’s decision to renominate so many judges unacceptable to them is unprecedented. The also say GOP plans to change the filibuster rules will tear apart Senate traditions that protect the rights of the minority party.

Because the Senate has 44 Democrats and an independent who usually sides with them, Republicans are expected to lose Tuesday’s vote to end debate on Owen’s nomination. At that point, party leaders say, they will conduct a series of maneuvers to establish a new procedure for confirming judges.

Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to preside over the session in his capacity as president of the Senate, in case his vote is needed to break a tie.

First, Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) would ask Cheney for a ruling on whether senators should have a right to vote on whether to proceed to a confirmation vote. Cheney is expected to rule in favor of Frist, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is expected to object. Senators would then vote on whether to table or reject the Democratic objection.

Because Republicans are in the majority, the objection would probably be rejected.

At that point, Frist would ask senators to vote on whether to proceed to a final confirmation vote, which would probably pass, and then would ask senators to vote on Owen’s confirmation. Both votes would require a simple majority of 51 votes to pass.

The result of Cheney’s ruling, followed by the three votes, would be to establish a new parliamentary procedure for considering judicial nominations that would bypass a cloture vote to end debate, making the filibuster useless as a stalling static.

In contrast to the previous days, debate on the Senate floor had a desultory air Friday, as senators saved their remaining ammunition for the coming week. Senate aides said that debate on Tuesday would begin in the afternoon and could last deep into the night.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) apologized for remarks on the Senate floor the previous day in which he invoked the name of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in criticizing Democrats. “It was a mistake and I meant no offense,” he said.

Santorum had described Democrats as hypocritical, saying their complaints about Republicans trying to break Senate rules was “the equivalent of Adolf Hitler in 1942 saying: ‘I’m in Paris. How dare you invade me?’ ”

Santorum said his point “was that it is preposterous for someone to trample a well-established principle” -- that judicial nominees should not be filibustered -- “and then accuse his opponents of acting unlawfully when they try to reestablish that principle.”