Frist, Reid work
on deal over
judge approvals

updated 10:37 p.m. ET April 25, 2005

WASHINGTON - In private talks with Majority Leader Bill Frist, the Senate’s top Democrat has indicated a willingness to allow confirmation of two of President Bush’s seven controversial appeals court nominees, but only as part of a broader compromise requiring Republicans to abandon threats to ban judicial filibusters, officials said Monday.

At the same time he floats the possibility of clearing two nominees to the 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals for approval, officials said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., wants a third appointee to the same circuit to be replaced by an alternative who is preferred by Michigan’s two Democratic senators.

Reid also remains staunchly opposed to four conservative candidates for other appellate circuits, these officials said in reference to Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, William G. Myers III and William H. Pryor Jr.

The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity, citing the confidential nature of the conversations between the two leaders.

Reid issued a statement during the day saying he has had numerous conversations with senators in both parties in hopes of avoiding a showdown, an indication that he is working aggressively to gather enough support from wavering Republicans to prevail in any showdown. “As part of any resolution, the nuclear option must be off the table,” the statement concluded, referring to the GOP threat of banning judicial filibusters.

Long-standing practice
Majority Republicans have threatened for weeks to unilaterally change long-standing senatorial practices that Democrats used to block 10 of Bush’s first-term appeals court nominations. The president has renominated seven of the 10 since winning re-election. Democrats, who argue the judges are too conservative to warrant lifetime appointments, have threatened to block them again with a tactic that requires supporters to post 60 votes before proceeding to a final roll call.

Frist and Reid have been discussing the overall issue privately for weeks, each man publicly stressing a willingness to seek a compromise while maneuvering for political advantage in the event of a showdown.

Apart from the seven controversial appeals court nominees, the issue is also seen as a proxy of sorts over future vacancies on an aging Supreme Court. Democrats fear Bush could have a second-term opportunity to shift the court rightward, possibly even ushering in a new era of hostility to abortion rights.

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