White House gloomy over judiciary prospects

Senate Republicans blamed for poisoning relations with Democrats

By Major Garrett
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- "Improper" delays engineered by Senate Republicans to thwart President Clinton's judicial nominees so poisoned relations with Democrats that President Bush may see only five of his own choices for the federal bench confirmed this year, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez said Tuesday.

"We are trying to work through some of the logjams, but there is a lot of bitterness," Gonzales told CNN. "This is a bit of a payback. I can't argue with some of their [the Democrats'] perceptions."

Gonzales noted that some Republican senators placed "holds" on Clinton judicial nominees, denying them a Judiciary Committee hearing or a floor vote for as long as four years.

"That was wrong," he said. "That's not right. Part of this is based on the conduct of the Republican senators in the past. We had nothing to do with this problem. But it does affect us."

Gonzales was exceedingly gloomy about the prospects of winning approval for Bush judicial nominees, predicting Bush would win no more than five judicial confirmations this year.

Gonzales said each of the three previous presidents won confirmation for more than 40 judicial nominees in their first year in office.

"It's a major problem and it's going to get worse," he said. "Our best argument is that the partisanship over judicial nominations has historically been saved for the end of an administration and not at the beginning. We would expect the same kind of deference given to Reagan, Bush and Clinton."

Gonzales said Democrats are reluctant to do so, however, because they fear Bush will "stack the federal judiciary with conservatives."

Gonzales said those fears are overwrought and pointed to Bush's renomination of Roger Gregory, an African-American lawyer from Richmond, Virginia.

Clinton nominated Gregory to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, but Senate Republicans stalled the nomination. Frustrated, Clinton gave Gregory a recess appointment to the bench, one that would have expired after one year unless Bush renominated him.

"We asked Roger Gregory the same questions and he gave us the answers we expected," Gonzales said.

"The answers were what you would expect from a good, solid, conservative judge. We don't ask potential nominees about abortion or affirmative action. We ask how you would render a decision."

Gregory is one of four federal judicial nominees to have won Senate confirmation. Overall, Bush has nominated 44 judges to the federal courts. Of those 22 are for the circuit court of appeals and 22 are for district court positions. Forty nominees await confirmation.