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US Democrats wary of Roberts high court nomination

Posted on: Tuesday, 19 July 2005, 22:15 CDT

By Thomas Ferraro

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats voiced concerns about President Bush's nomination of conservative John Roberts for the Supreme Court on Tuesday but said was too early to know if they will try to deny him confirmation.

Special interest groups from the right and left quickly began their own war of words that will likely fuel any national debate and Senate battle.

Roberts, 50, who served in Republican administrations under former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, will begin making visits to senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat who had urged Bush to offer a "consensus nominee," said, "I will not pre-judge this nomination."

"The president has made his choice," Reid said. "Now the Senate will do its job of deciding whether to confirm John Roberts to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court."

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, said, "Judge Roberts is the kind of outstanding nominee that will make America proud."

"I urge my fellow senators to join me in making sure the (confirmation) process is fair ... and that we have an up or down vote on Judge Roberts' nomination before the Supreme Court begins its new term on October 3," Frist said.

It was unclear if the Republican-led Senate will confirm Roberts by then as Bush requested -- or if Democrats will put up a lengthy fight that could include a procedural hurdle known as a filibuster.

Democrats blocked 10 of Bush's most conservative federal appeals court nominees during the president's first term. But Roberts was not among them.

In fact, Roberts was confirmed in 2003 by the full Senate without any recorded opposition to a seat on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

But Democrats said a nomination to the Supreme Court means he will face more questions.

"It is a whole new ballgame," said Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat who sits on the Judiciary Committee that will hold confirmation hearings, likely in September. (additional reporting by Joanne Kenen)

Source: REUTERS

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