CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
– LEGAL AFFAIRS
May 31, 2009 – 1:03 p.m.
GOP Senators Favor Slow Deliberations On Sotomayor
By Seth Stern and Keith Perine, CQ Staff
The Senate should move slowly and examine Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s record carefully before bringing her nomination to the Supreme Court up for a vote, say top Senate Republicans.
A confirmation vote before the August recess is unrealistic, the Judiciary Committee’s top Republican said Sunday.
“I think that’s rushing it,” Jeff Sessions , R-Ala. said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“I believe that she has over 3,000, maybe 4,000-plus opinions that need to be examined. And I think there’s no need for us to do that. We do need to do it by October. That’s when Justice [David H.] Souter will be stepping down.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy , D-Vt., who appeared with Sessions on the program, wouldn’t make any promises about having a nominee in place by September as President Obama has requested. But Leahy said he wants to hold a hearing as soon as possible in order to give Sotomayor an opportunity to respond to critics.
Leahy and Sessions were among 11 senators who spoke about Sotomayor’s nomination on Sunday news shows.
Republicans declined to criticize Rush Limbaugh and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga. (1979-99), for calling Sotomayor a racist” and a bigot. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he “would not get into policing everybody’s speech” regarding Sotomayor. But he said “it is certainly not my view” that Sotomayor is a racist.
“My view is we ought to take a look at this nominee’s qualifications,” said McConnell, R-Ky., who appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Jon Kyl , R-Ariz., the minority whip, sidestepped the question during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” by saying, “I’m not going to get drawn into characterizations before I’ve even met her.”
Kyl will meet her Tuesday.
McConnell refused to take specific positions on how much time Republicans wanted to process the nomination, or whether they would try to filibuster it.
McConnell said it is “entirely too early to tell” whether Republicans would try to block a confirmation vote. But he was careful to note that President Obama, as a senator, voted to filibuster the nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr. in 2006. “I think the precedent is firmly established. It doesn’t mean it will be done in every instance,” McConnell said.
But Kay Bailey Hutchison , R-Texas, appearing on CNN, said she did not think there would be a need for a filibuster “unless we have not had a chance to look at the record fully.””
Charles E. Schumer , D-N.Y., who has been designated by the White House to guide the nomination, said on ABC’s “This Week” that he thought Sotomayor would be “approved by a very large majority.”
Schumer also said, “I think she’s virtually filibuster-proof when people learn her record and her story.”
Hutchison, who is preparing to run for governor in Texas, was asked whether she was worried that the tone of the debate so far has hurt her party with Latinos.
“I think that having a solid, respectful tone arguing the facts, not trying to label someone, I think is important,” Hutchison said, “and I think going forward that’s what you will see from the senators who are involved in this process.”
Republicans emphasized that Sotomayor’s lengthy record as a federal trial and appellate judge means there are more cases to review. “There’s a lot to look at and I think we need to go through the process systematically,” McConnell said.
Regarding whether Republicans would agree to a Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing in July, with an eye toward a Senate confirmation vote by Aug. 7, when the next recess begins, McConnell said, “I don’t think we should start with a presumption of exactly what the end date is going to be.”
But, McConnell added, “I can’t imagine we won’t be able to get through this process well in advance of the first Monday in October” when the Supreme Court’s next term begins.
Lindsey Graham , R-S.C., told “Fox News Sunday” he doesn’t think a confirmation before the August recess is practical. “I’m not going to cut this short,” Graham said.
Arlen Specter , D-Pa., who as the Republican chairman of the committee took more time with the Alito nomination than the Bush administration had wanted, sounded more amenable to a quicker time frame this time around.
“I think it can be done by the end of the July session,” Specter told “Fox News Sunday.”
Comments
If the Republicans put up roadblocks to a confirmation, that - added to the ludicrous Minnesota Republican maneuvers against Al Franken - will just dig them further into the whole they've been digging for themselves. We're facing hard times at home and abroad. I think the American people don't want to see either party play these partisan games.
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