Confident Alito, GOP senators relax in confirmation home stretch

On the verge of a second successful Supreme Court appointment, the White House flexed its judicial muscles yesterday, sending Samuel Alito to the Capitol for an early victory lap and renaming a contentious appellate court nominee whom Democrats managed to block in past years.

 Just hours after Senate debate opened on his nomination to the Supreme Court, Alito posed for photographs and congratulations with Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and other senior GOP senators. Although a Senate confirmation vote is not expected until Friday at the earliest _ and possibly as late as Tuesday _ the group acted as if the result was not in doubt. Alito, an appellate judge for the past 15 years, thanked ``all of the senators who supported me and were kind enough to meet with me.'' 



 Meanwhile, the White House renominated Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. President Bush nominated Kavanaugh, the White House staff secretary, in July 2003, but he fell victim to intense battles between Senate Democrats and Republicans over numerous judicial appointments. A May 2005 bipartisan pact averted a showdown over judicial filibusters and enabled some contested nominees to win confirmation. But it left Kavanaugh in limbo. 



 The Senate Judiciary Committee's eight Democrats complained last year that Kavanaugh took several months to answer their written questions about his qualifications. Other Democrats have noted that Kavanaugh, 40, has limited courtroom experience and helped independent counsel Kenneth Starr pursue the Monica Lewinsky case during the Clinton presidency. 



 Senate debate on Alito's confirmation opened with Republicans praising him and Democrats calling him a threat to long-established rights such as access to abortion in all 50 states. ``He has voted to narrow that circle, to restrict the rights that Americans hold dear,'' Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said. 



 Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said Alito ``has stated he looks at the facts of each case. Yet time and time again his decisions show support for big business, for the executive branch, but not so much for everyday Americans.'' 



 Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said Alito ``is highly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.'' Democrats, he said, ``are so intent on manufacturing a case against this nominee that they brush aside this seemingly minor detail of his qualifications as if it were just an annoyance.'' 



 Frist began the debate by saying that ``those who oppose him are smearing a decent and honorable man and imposing an unfair, political standard on all judicial nominees.'' Frist added, ``He has a record that demonstrates a respect for judicial restraint, an aversion to political agendas on the bench, and a commitment to the rule of law and the Constitution.'' 



 At the White House, Bush met with 54 of Alito's former law clerks. The president told reporters that Alito ``has earned broad support from his fellow judges on the 3rd Circuit'' and said: ``There's no doubt about Judge Alito's qualifications, his intellect, or his complete dedication to our Constitution and laws. He is exactly the kind of person Americans want on the Supreme Court.''