Archive: September 18, 2005 - September 24, 2005
Dayton: No
The AP reports that Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) will vote no....
By Fred Barbash | September 23, 2005; 2:59 PM ET | Comments (5)
Clinton Will Vote No
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y) has announced her oppositon to confirmation of John R. Roberts to be chief justice of the United Sates. She joins New York's senior senator, Charles Schumer, in opposition. "My desire to maintain the already fragile Supreme Court majority for civil rights, voting rights and women's rights outweigh the respect I have for Judge Roberts's intellect, character, and legal skills," she said in a statement. The statement is below in full: "The nomination of Judge John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the United States is a matter of tremendous consequence for future generations of Americans. It requires thoughtful inquiry and debate, and I commend my colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee for their dedication to making sure that all questions were presented and that those outside of the Senate had the opportunity to make their voices heard. After serious and...
By Fred Barbash | September 23, 2005; 1:13 PM ET | Comments (27)
Obama Will Vote No
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D) announced that he will vote "no" on the Roberts confirmation. See the article in the Illinois Leader....
By Fred Barbash | September 23, 2005; 1:07 PM ET | Comments (11)
Floor Vote Count
All 55 Senate Republicans are expected to vote for John Roberts's confirmation as chief justice of the United States next week. The 44 Democrats are less unified. Vermont's Sen. James Jeffords is the one remaining independent vote. Democrats who have announced their support for Roberts (8): Bill Nelson of Florida, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Max Baucus of Montana, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Kent Conrad of North Dakota. Democrats who voted for Roberts on the Judiciary Committee (3): Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin. From the Associated Press -- current Senate vote count based on announcements so far. Democrats who have announced their opposition (7): Harry Reid of Nevada, Barbara Boxer of California, John Kerry of Massachusetts, Jon Corzine of New Jersey, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Barack Obama of...
By Fred Barbash | September 23, 2005; 3:48 AM ET | Comments (4)
Coburn, Yes. Final Tally: 13-5
Final vote: Yes - 13; No - 5 Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R), Grassley (R), Kyl (R), DeWine (R), Sessions (R), Leahy (D), Kohl (D), Feingold (D), Graham (R), Cornyn (R), Brownback (R) Coburn (R) No: (All Democrats) Kennedy, Biden, Feinstein, Schumer, Durbin....
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 12:44 PM ET | Comments (10)
Cornyn, Brownback, Yes; Durbin, No
Vote so far: Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R,) Grassley (R,) Kyl (R), DeWine (R), Sessions (R), Leahy (D), Kohl (D), Feingold (D), Graham(R), Cornyn (R), Brownback (R) No: (All Democrats) Kennedy, Biden, Feinstein, Schumer, Durbin. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) introduced a girl with Downs Syndrome at the hearing to emphasize his commitment to the right to life....
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 12:41 PM ET | Comments (10)
Schumer Votes No
Vote so far: Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R), Grassley (R), Kyl (R), DeWine (R), Sessions (R), Leahy (D), Kohl (D), Feingold (D) No: (All Democrats) Kennedy, Biden, Feinstein, Schumer...
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 12:23 PM ET | Comments (9)
Committee Votes to Confirm Roberts
Vote so far: Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R), Grassley (R), Kyl (R), DeWine (R), Sessions (R), Leahy (D), Kohl (D), Feingold (D), Graham (R) No: (All Democrats) Kennedy, Biden, Feinstein....
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 11:52 AM ET | Comments (13)
Sessions, Yes; Feingold, Yes
Vote so far: Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R), Grassley (R), Kyl (R), DeWine (R), Sessions (R), Leahy (D), Kohl (D), Feingold (D) No: (All Democrats) Kennedy, Biden, Feinstein Feingold statement below provided by his office:...
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 11:38 AM ET | Comments (7)
DeWine Votes Yes; Kohl, Yes
Vote so far: Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R) Grassley (R), Kyl (R), DeWine (R), Leahy (D), Kohl (D) No: Kennedy (D), Biden (D), Feinstein (D) Excerts from Kohl below:...
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 11:25 AM ET | Email a Comment
The Dems 'No' So Far
Vote so far: Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R), Leahy (D), Grassley (R), Kyl (R) No: Feinstein (D), Kennedy (D), Biden (D)...
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 11:13 AM ET | Email a Comment
Biden Votes No
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) says "it's a very close call" but votes no....
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 11:08 AM ET | Comments (5)
Kyl Votes Yes
Vote so far: Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R), Leahy (D), Grassley (R), Kyl (R) No: Feinstein (D), Kennedy (D)...
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 11:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Kennedy Votes No
Vote so far: Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R), Leahy (D), Grassley (R) No: Feinstein (D), Kennedy (D)...
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 10:44 AM ET | Comments (15)
Grassley Votes Yes
Vote so far: Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R), Leahy (D), Grassley (R) No: Feinstein (D)...
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 10:36 AM ET | Email a Comment
Leahy Votes Yes
Vote so far: Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R), Leahy (D) No: Feinstein (D) Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who announced his "aye" vote yesterday, reaffirmed his vote. "My Vermont routes have always told me to go with my conscience. [Roberts] is a man of his word. I take him at his word that he is not an ideologue."...
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 10:34 AM ET | Comments (3)
Hatch Votes Yes
Vote so far: Yes: Specter (R), Hatch (R) No: Feinstein (D) Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah) says "it's pretty tough to vote against this man if you're really being fair.... He's the best I've seen." Hatch excerpts below: ...
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 10:24 AM ET | Email a Comment
Feinstein Votes No
Vote Yes: Specter (R) No: Feinstein (D) Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) cast her vote no, saying she did not like Roberts's answers to her questions and those of other senators, and particularly as "the only woman on the committee," she said she remains unconvinced that he will act as chief justice to uphold basic rights of all Americans. The committee has taken a break for a floor vote. Feinstein excerpts below:...
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 9:56 AM ET | Comments (25)
Sen. Specter Calls Committee to Order
Vote Yes-1; No-0; Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) opened proceedings at 9:32 a.m., casting his vote for Roberts....
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 9:40 AM ET | Email a Comment
Senate Judiciary Committee
I will be reporting live in this space on Senate Judiciary Committee proceedings this morning. The pre-vote speech making is set to begin momentarily....
By Fred Barbash | September 22, 2005; 9:28 AM ET | Email a Comment
Boxer Will Vote No
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) announced today that she will vote against Roberts confirmation. See her statement here. In announced opposition among Democrats now are Sens. Reid, Kennedy, Corzine, Kerry, Boxer and Lautenberg. Democrats announced in favor include Sens. Leahy, Baucus and Johnson and Bingaman....
By Fred Barbash | September 21, 2005; 8:35 PM ET | Comments (6)
Corzine Will Vote Against; Baucus and Johnson, Yes
Sen. Jon S. Corzine (D-N.J.) announced today that he will oppose the Roberts confirmation. Click herefor his full statement. Democratic Sens. Max Baucus (Mont.) and Tim Johnson (S.D.) said they would vote yes....
By Fred Barbash | September 21, 2005; 6:10 PM ET | Comments (3)
Kerry to Vote Against Roberts
Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) announced today in the Senate that he will not vote to confirm John Roberts. Here are his prepared remarks from his official Web site....
By Lexie Verdon | September 21, 2005; 5:15 PM ET | Email a Comment
Kennedy Will Vote Against Roberts
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) announced today that he will vote against Roberts. Read his statement here....
By Fred Barbash | September 21, 2005; 11:42 AM ET | Comments (14)
Leahy Will Vote to Confirm
Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said this morning that he will vote to confirm John G. Roberts Jr. as chief justice of the United States. Click here for his statement....
By Fred Barbash | September 21, 2005; 11:06 AM ET | Comments (13)
Bush Meets on O'Connor Replacement
Steve Holland of Reuters reports: Senate leaders warned President Bush Wednesday that his next nominee to the Supreme Court will likely face a far more contentious confirmation battle than John Roberts, who is poised to become U.S. chief justice. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, emerged from a White House meeting to say he had advised the president to ask retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to stay on through the court's coming October-June term in order to see how Roberts performs as chief justice. With the court's balance of power likely at stake, Bush is considering a number of candidates to replace O'Connor and was expected to announce his choice in the days after Roberts is confirmed by the full Senate next week....
By Fred Barbash | September 21, 2005; 9:23 AM ET | Comments (3)
Chafee Will Vote to Confirm
The AP reports: Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) says he will vote to confirm John Roberts as chief justice of the United States. Chafee told the Providence Journal that he will approve Roberts even though he has concerns the conservative judge will vote to restrict abortion rights. Chafee, a Republican, says the Supreme Court has a narrow majority that favors abortion rights and adding Roberts won't change that. Roberts would replace the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who opposed abortion. Democratic Senator Jack Reed says he has not decided how he will vote on Roberts' nomination....
By Fred Barbash | September 21, 2005; 8:12 AM ET | Comments (1)
Leahy to Announce Roberts Vote
From the Boston Globe:U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., will announce his position on the confirmation of Chief Justice-nominee John Roberts on Wednesday, his spokesman said Tuesday. Leahy is the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will vote Thursday on the Roberts nomination. The committee is made up of 10 Republicans and eight Democrats. Leahy's speech on the Senate floor Wednesday morning will follow a meeting with President Bush to discuss the next opening on the court, the seat held by retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Bush invited Leahy and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., as well as the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate to discuss the vacancy. "The president has said he wants to be a uniter and not a divider, and he's also said he's against judicial activism," said Leahy. "Real, two-way, bipartisan consultation is the way to achieve both...
By Fred Barbash | September 21, 2005; 6:02 AM ET | Email a Comment
Reid to Vote Against Roberts
Washington Post staff writer Charles Babington reports: Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid of Nevada announced today that he will vote against the confirmation of chief justice nominee John G. Roberts Jr., a sign that party leaders want to build a sizeable bloc of opposition in next week's floor vote. Reid, an anti-abortion moderate from a swing state, is the type of Democrat that the Bush administration hoped would vote for Roberts. Reid's announcement, to be detailed in an afternoon Senate speech, is partly designed to encourage other moderate Democrats to oppose the nomination....
By Lexie Verdon | September 20, 2005; 2:04 PM ET | Comments (21)
Specter Will Vote to Confirm
From Reuters: The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said on Monday he will vote for John Roberts to be U.S. chief justice even though it is uncertain what the conservative appeals court judge will do on the Supreme Court. "It's my judgment that he's well qualified ... and I intend to vote aye when his nomination is called before the Senate," the Republican chairman, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, said in a Senate speech. "Notwithstanding his answers and my efforts to glean some hint or realistic expectation from his words and body language, candidly it is not possible to predict or have a solid expectation of what Judge Roberts would do," Specter said....
By Fred Barbash | September 19, 2005; 5:05 PM ET | Comments (5)
TWP: Yes; NYT: No
"Confirm John Roberts" is the headline on a Washington Post editorial this morning.* The New York Times editorial board says he's "Too Much of a Mystery" and urges a no vote.* The Post:JOHN G. ROBERTS JR. should be confirmed as chief justice of the United States. He is overwhelmingly well-qualified, possesses an unusually keen legal mind and practices a collegiality of the type an effective chief justice must have. He shows every sign of commitment to restraint and impartiality. Nominees of comparable quality have, after rigorous hearings, been confirmed nearly unanimously. We hope Judge Roberts will similarly be approved by a large bipartisan vote. The Times: If he is confirmed, we think there is a chance Mr. Roberts could be a superb chief justice. But it is a risk. We might be reluctant to roll the dice even for a...
By Fred Barbash | September 18, 2005; 5:49 PM ET | Comments (25)
Sunday Talk Shows
From AP Republicans will be disappointed if they are counting on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts to overturn the landmark abortion decision of Roe v. Wade, a GOP member of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said President Bush's nominee for chief justice will be a reliable conservative on the court, but not a certain vote against the 1973 ruling. "If your view of conservative is he'll have to decide your way, you'll be disappointed," Graham said. "Judge Roberts will listen to the arguments from those challenging it and those seeking to uphold it and make a decision not based on politics but the rule of law." "He's not an ideologue, but a true strict constructionist believing in a limited role of the courts in our society," Graham told "Fox News Sunday."...
By Fred Barbash | September 18, 2005; 10:42 AM ET | Comments (6)
