Republicans push Olson nomination through Senate

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate's Republican leadership, just days away from an en masse demotion, shepherded the nomination of George W. Bush ally Ted Olson as solicitor general through the chamber late Thursday afternoon.

Olson's promotion to the post squeaked through the Senate, 51-47.

Republican leaders tapped Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to move the nomination through the chamber just a few hours after Sen. James Jeffords, R-Vermont, announced he was bolting the Republican Party to become an independent.

Jeffords' move will break the 50-50 tie in the Senate, granting Democrats majority control for the first time since 1994. The Democrats will officially assume the majority by June 5, according to Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, the majority leader until then.

Speaking to reporters Thursday afternoon, Lott insisted the impending change of the GOP's status had nothing to do with the quick advancement of the Olson nomination.

Many Democrats have voiced strong reservations about Olson, a right-wing luminary whose ties to a number of conservative publications have been questioned.

Many linked Olson to the so-called Arkansas Project to discredit President Clinton, and some observers predicted with the Democrats coming to power in the Senate, Olson's nomination would die a quick death.

Work in the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nomination ground to a halt last week when Democrats requested more information on Olson's dealings.

Some Democrats were wary Olson had not revealed all when quizzed by the committee about his connections to the project and to the conservative publication "The American Spectator."

Lott said Thursday a substantial amount of information had been provided. When the judiciary panel stalled, Lott lifted the nomination from the committee calendar and moved it toward the floor.

He predicted over the weekend the move would succeed.

"We're going to try to work through additional requests that have come from the Democrats to look at some additional files and maybe submit some more questions. But in the end, I think that they will be satisfied," Lott told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

Olson's defenders came out Sunday morning to back up Lott and the Senate Republicans.

"I believe him to be, having known him for over 20 years, very truthful," former independent counsel Kenneth Starr told ABC's "This Week." "So let's find out any additional facts. I think that the facts will be very supportive of Ted and Ted's credibility."

Olson is perhaps best known for arguing the Florida ballot recount case before the Supreme Court last December. His efforts led to a favorable ruling for Bush, bringing an end to the recounts and awarding the Texas Republican the presidency.

In his new post, Olson will again find himself before nation's highest court. The solicitor general represents the United States in cases before Supreme Court.