White House Watch: Democrats want a slow path to Alito's confirmation vote
Senate Democrats, wanting to keep Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the job through April's end of Supreme Court arguments, are building a case to move slowly on the confirmation of her nominated replacement, Samuel Alito. "I think that we should just wait," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.
He and others are hoping to delay the confirmation hearings and final Senate vote until after April, because they are worried that Alito would vote differently than O'Connor on cases before the court that they think are critical. "What's the rush on this nomination? Sandra Day O'Connor is there," Reid told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor briefing.
To push that cause, Democrats plan to claim that weeks are needed to review Alito's 15 years on the bench. "He's got a long record and we need a long time to look it over," said a key Democratic aide. What's more, many Democrats are said to be interested in more than just Alito's firm opposition to abortion. "There are lots of other issues that are coming before the court that we, frankly, need time to look at," said a top aide.
That message appears to be winning over some Republicans, who doubt that the confirmation hearings will begin before next year.
advertisement
