Republicans suffer setback on Bolton
Democrats force delay on vote to close debate
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| JOHN R. BOLTON | AGE: 56; born November 20, 1948, in Baltimore, Maryland
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree from Yale University, summa cum laude, 1970; law degree from Yale Law School, 1974
EXPERIENCE: Undersecretary of state for arms control and international security since May 11, 2001; assistant U.S. attorney general, 1985-1989; assistant administrator for program and policy coordination, U.S. Agency for International Development, 1982-1983; general counsel, U.S. Agency for International Development, 1981-1982; associate at the Washington office of Covington & Burlington, 1974-81; partner in the law firm of Lerner, Reed, Bolton & McManus, 1993-99
FAMILY: Married to the former Gretchen Brainerd; one daughter.
Source: AP
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After hours of heated debate over President Bush's nomination of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Senate Republicans late Thursday failed in their bid to cut off debate over the nomination -- prompting Majority Leader Bill Frist to lampoon Democrats for engaging in "another period of obstruction."
The Senate voted 56-42 for cloture, four votes shy of the necessary 60 votes to cut off debate. Frist entered a motion for the Senate to reconsider the vote when senators return next month after a weeklong Memorial Day holiday break.
Two key Democrats -- Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, and Joe Biden, D-Delaware -- had urged their Democratic colleagues to vote against closing the debate, saying they want more time for the administration to turn over documents on Syria and 10 National Security Agency intercepts that Bolton, as the State Department's undersecretary for arms control, had once requested.
Frist reacted angrily to Thursday's outcome, saying he was "very, very disappointed" with Democrats after starting the week on a high note with a bipartisan agreement on judicial nominees, in which it was agreed filibusters would be used only for "extraordinary circumstances."
The agreement precluded filibusters on three of Bush's judicial nominees who had been held up during his first term. (Full story)
"What America has just seen is engagement of another period of obstruction by the other side of the aisle, and it looks like we have -- once again -- another filibuster," Frist said.
"Shortly after we thought we'd had things working together in this body again, we got another filibuster. ... We had an opportunity to complete this week with a very good spirit."
Frist votes with Dems
Frist actually voted with Democrats against cutting off debate in a parliamentary move that allowed him to call for the vote to be reconsidered. A senator can ask for cloture to be reconsidered, but only if they are on the winning side of the vote.
Three Democrats voted with Republicans in Thursday: Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas, all of whom were part of the bipartisan filibuster agreement earlier this week. Two senators, Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, did not vote.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, noted it was the end of May and this was "the first filibuster of the year, and may be the last."
"I hope so," Reid said. "It isn't as if we're looking for things to have extended debate on. We need to work together and I think this week has established that. But how can we work together when information is not supplied? So, I hope that we'll all slow down the rhetoric during the break."
Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that sent Bolton's nomination to the Senate, said Democrats were "ready to vote immediately" after the Senate reconvenes if the administration turns over the documents in question.
"We are willing to vote 10 minutes after we get back in session if in fact they provide the information -- information that Mr. Bolton's staff had access to that they will not give to the majority leader of the United States Senate," Biden said.
White House reaction
At the White House, officials reacted with surprise and anger at Thursday's outcome. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the White House has no plans to hand over the documents requested by Biden and Dodd.
"They have the information they need. This is just about resorting back to a partisan approach," McClellan said. "Just 72 hours after all the good will and bipartisanship, it's a shame to see the Democratic leadership resort back to a partisan approach. This is a nominee who has majority support."
Senior administration officials were taken by surprise by the failure to invoke cloture. One senior Bush aide told CNN the White House, as well as Senate Republican leaders, believed as late as Thursday afternoon there was a gentleman's agreement with the Democratic leader to move forward on the nomination.
But Bush and congressional aides said Biden and Dodd made a passionate plea to their colleagues in a party lunch to hold off on the vote until they get the information they are seeking.
In a letter to their colleagues, Biden and Dodd said the administration's refusal to provide the documents "is a threat to the Senate's constitutional power to advise and consent."
"The only way to protect that power is to continue to demand that the information be provided to the Senate," the senators said. "The only means of forcing the administration to cooperate is to prevent a final vote on the nomination today. We urge to you vote no on cloture."
Diplomatic skills
Democrats have charged that Bolton lacks the necessary diplomatic skills for the job.
At his confirmation hearings last month, senators heard testimony that Bolton bullied subordinates and manipulated intelligence.
Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued a 63-page report last week saying Bolton tried repeatedly to discipline an analyst who disagreed with him -- and then misled the committee about the matter. (Full story)
One of Bolton's former State Department colleagues testified last month that he was "a quintessential kiss-up, kick-down sort of guy."
Republicans on the panel released an eight-page brief backing Bolton, whose supporters argue he is a seasoned government official who can spearhead reform at the United Nations.
"A vote for John Bolton is a vote for U.N. reform," Frist said shortly before Thursday's roll call.
The Republican-dominated Foreign Relations Committee voted 10-8 along party lines two weeks ago to send the Bolton nomination to the full Senate. But the committee withheld its endorsement, something rarely done. (Full story)
