By Seth Stern, CQ Staff

Sen. Arlen Specter said Monday that a filibuster of the nominee to lead the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel is “under consideration.”

The nominee, Dawn Johnsen, an Indiana University law professor, has come under fire from conservatives because of her criticism of the OLC’s conduct during the George W. Bush administration and for her past work for abortion rights groups.

Specter of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said Monday that he has not yet made up his mind on the nomination even after meeting privately with Johnsen. He did not state a position when the committee took up the nomination last month. When asked whether he would support a filibuster, Specter said, “That’s under consideration.”

After the Judiciary panel approved Johnsen’s nomination on a party-line vote, John Cornyn , R-Texas, said he would do everything he could to block her confirmation.

If Republicans filibuster Johnsen’s nomination, they can cite the recent precedent of Democrats blocking the confirmation of Steven G. Bradbury to head the OLC under Bush. But Bradbury led the OLC anyway, as its principal deputy assistant attorney general, a position that does not require Senate approval. He signed three of the four memorandums regarding detention and interrogation policy that the Justice Department released April 16.

Democrats, meanwhile, have signaled that they would use any protracted floor debate on Johnsen’s nomination to revisit the Bush administration’s controversial counterterrorism policies.

The Senate confirmed three other assistant attorneys general Monday: Lanny Breuer, Tony West and Christine Varney to head the Justice Department’s criminal, civil, and antitrust divisions, respectively.