Bush to name Alito to Supreme Court

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President George W. Bush will
nominate conservative U.S. appeals court judge Samuel Alito to
the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to fill the seat of retiring
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a congressional aide told Reuters.

Bush is to make the announcement at 8 a.m. (1300 GMT) at
the White House.

Alito, 55, is considered a conservative in the mold of
Justice Antonin Scalia. Alito is sometimes given the nickname
“Scalito” — a comparison to Scalia, who shares his Italian
heritage as well as his reputation for conservatism and a
strong intellect. He is a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals in Philadelphia.

As nominee, he would replace White House counsel Harriet
Miers, who withdrew her name from consideration last week under
withering attack from conservatives within Bush’s own
Republican Party.

A conservative choice was bound to trigger a fight from
Senate Democrats who want to see O’Connor replaced by a
moderate justice like her.

Republican Sen. Jon Cornyn of Texas praised the choice,
calling Alito “man of outstanding character, who is deeply
committed to public service.”

But Cornyn, who had supported a conservative choice,
cautioned any potential Democratic opposition that, “It is
important that the confirmation process be completed in a
timely manner free of obstructionist tactics.”

Although O’Connor has said she will remain until her
replacement is named, the high court is nearly a month into its
new session.

Aides were hoping that the Supreme Court nominee would give
Bush a fresh start after one of the toughest weeks of his
presidency. Miers withdrew, U.S. troops marked the 2,000th
death in the Iraq war and Vice President Dick Cheney’s top
aide, Lewis Libby, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the
investigation into who leaked a covert CIA operative’s name in
2003.