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Bolton Vote Stalls Again in Senate; Bush Retains Option of Using Recess Appointment
U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday left the door open for a recess appointment of U.N. ambassador nominee John Bolton after Senate Democrats blocked a confirmation vote for the second time, the New York Times reported (see GSN, June 20). “I think Mr. Bolton ought to get an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor — that’s my call to the Senate,” Bush said. “The American people know why I nominated him — because the U.N. needs reform, and I thought it made sense to send a reformer to the United Nations.” A recess appointment would last until January 2007. Both Democrats and Republicans believe such a move could hurt Bolton and the White House because the ambassador would lack the backing of the Senate. “That’s a legitimate concern,” said Senator George Allan (R-Va.). “I hope that people will take a little longer look at our national interests and say that, ‘Let’s not go down the road to a recess appointment,’” said Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.). Roberts added that he did not think Bolton would be confirmed, according to the Times. “At this juncture, I think it’s a pretty tough climb,” he said. “We tried our best and we failed.” Republicans needed 60 votes to force a vote on Bolton, but received only 54. Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio), who in the first vote sided with Republicans, crossed party lines in Monday’s vote. Voinovich said information he received since the last vote “confirmed my belief that John Bolton is not the right man for this job.” The debate over Bolton centers around the White House’s refusal to turn over documents requested during the confirmation process. Before yesterday’s vote, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card offered Democrats the draft of a speech Bolton gave on Syria’s weapons program, but refused to provide names Bolton requested from National Security Agency intercepts when he was undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. Senator Joseph Biden (Del.), ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, refused the offer. “I indicated to him that was not sufficient,” Biden said. “We will agree to vote up and down on the Bolton nomination as soon as the administration provides the information requested by the committee.” A Republican aide on Capitol Hill told the Times that unless a compromise is made, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) would not make a third attempt to confirm Bolton. A spokesman for Frist said no decision on an additional vote has been made. Frist said the document requests were unreasonable and that Democrats were acting in bad faith. “Despite hours and hours of relentless questioning, deliberation and debate, the minority has still resorted to parliamentary maneuvers to thwart the president’s choice for U.N. ambassador, a post that has remained vacant now for over five months,” Frist said. White House spokesman Scott McClellan echoed those sentiments. “We have worked in good faith, yet Democratic leaders continue to move the goal posts,” McClellan said. “They are not interested in documents, they are only interested in preventing progress and blocking John Bolton” (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, June 21).
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