Dodd Says Nomination Fight Would Make Bolton Ineffective at UN
April 24 (Bloomberg) -- John Bolton, President George W. Bush's nominee to be United Nations ambassador, would be hobbled in the job because of the allegations raised during confirmation hearings, Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd said.
Dodd, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Democrats are raising objections to Bolton because of evidence he tried to twist intelligence analysis to fit his views, not because of political differences. He said Bush should consider withdrawing the nomination.
``There are plenty of other good people who embrace his ideological views,'' Dodd said on CBS's ``Face the Nation.''
Republicans such as Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell said Bolton's ``forceful'' personality made him the ideal candidate to lead U.S. efforts to reform the UN. Allegations that Bolton abused subordinates and tried to remove analysts whose conclusions conflicted with his are unproven, McConnell, the second-ranking Senate Republican, said on the CBS show.
A vote on Bolton's nomination by the Senate panel has been delayed until May 12 after Republicans and Democrats on the panel agreed to spend more time reviewing records and interviewing people who dealt with Bolton, the undersecretary of state for arms control.
The delay may jeopardize Bolton's confirmation as at least one of the 10 Republicans on the 18-member Foreign Relations Committee, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, has said he is ``less likely'' to vote for the nominee as a result of the questions that are being raised about his credibility. Bush said last week he was standing by the Bolton nomination.
Bolton's Defense
Bolton, 56, in his public testimony before the panel denied mistreating subordinates and said he only sought to have the analysts reassigned because he had lost confidence in them.
His supporters say he is a skilled public official who strongly defends U.S. interests. Seven former U.S. secretaries of state and defense, including Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, wrote the committee in support of Bolton.
Dodd, of Connecticut, and fellow Democratic Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois cited testimony from an April 12 hearing that Bolton tried to get two intelligence analysts fired after they refused to clear a speech Bolton was to deliver on Cuba's arms programs. Durbin said Bolton's alleged poor treatment of subordinates also made him unsuitable for the UN job.
``He wants to be our top diplomat at the UN, but his life has been something less than diplomatic,'' Durbin said on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program.
`No Evidence'
Republican Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona said Bolton deserved a vote by the full Senate and dismissed allegations that the nominee tried to fire anyone for disagreeing with him.
``There's absolutely no evidence John Bolton tried to get anyone fired,'' Kyl said, on the ABC program ``This Week.''
Fellow Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said Bolton's nomination is ``too close to call.''
One Democrat, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, the UN ambassador and energy secretary under President Bill Clinton, said he experienced similar delays while going through the confirmation process.
``In the end, I do think that Mr. Bolton is going to get confirmed,'' Richardson said on CNN's ``Late Edition'' program. ``But it's going to be through a very thorough and, I think, appropriate grilling by the Relations Committee, Republican and Democrat.''
Judicial Nominations
Senators also discussed a threat by Republican leaders to change the chamber's rules to prevent Democrats from using the parliamentary tactic known as a filibuster to block the president's judicial nominees. Democrats have held up 10 of Bush's 215 nominees to the federal bench.
Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee says he is considering amending the rules so that 51 votes, a simple majority, can end debate on a judicial nominee rather than the current 60. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada vowed to respond to a rule change by bringing all Senate business to a halt.
Frist is slated to speak in support of the rule change in remarks broadcast at an event organized by the Family Research Council and other Christian groups
Specter, chairman of the judiciary committee, said he hasn't taken a position on the rule change and is trying to work with Democrats to move judicial nominations through the Senate.
He said he is trying ``to defuse the situation, try to work toward a compromise, so that we don't come to a vote on the so- called nuclear or constitutional option.''
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jon Steinman in Washington at jsteinman@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: April 24, 2005 15:54 EDT
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