Democratic Defections Clear Path For Mukasey

As senior committee Democrats such as Leahy and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.) broke against Mukasey, Republicans privately viewed Schumer and Feinstein as a voting bloc, likely to support confirmation together or provide the final votes against the nominee. The GOP line of thinking was that, on such a controversial political issue for the Democratic base, no committee member would be the lone Democrat to support Mukasey in a 10 to 9 approval vote because of the political repercussions from his critics.

Schumer, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is already facing a campaign by liberal activists urging online donors not to contribute to the DSCC if Schumer votes for Mukasey.

Schumer, who was the first senator to demand Gonzales's resignation and is well known for seeking the limelight, stayed unusually quiet over the past two weeks while he negotiated behind the scenes with the White House, according to sources familiar with his activities.

One Democratic aide said Schumer gave the administration guidance about what Mukasey should include in a letter to Democrats on waterboarding. The letter included some of the elements but fell short in key areas, stoking the controversy, the aide said.

Those concerns were mollified during Schumer's meeting yesterday with Mukasey, who said he would have no problem enforcing any future legislation barring waterboarding at the CIA, the aide said. The practice has already been administratively barred by the CIA director.

Once the nomination reaches the Senate floor, Republicans are assured that they would have more than 50 votes for Mukasey's confirmation, with Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) having already publicly joined Schumer and Feinstein in support of Mukasey, who is likely to be backed by all 49 Republicans. Democratic leaders have not discussed whether to launch a filibuster, aides said.

In appearances since Thursday, Bush has attacked Democrats for slowing the nomination and has said Mukasey is "not being treated fairly." White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that "he deserves a vote from the full Senate, where we are confident he would be confirmed."

One senior Democratic aide described the pitched battle over Mukasey's nomination as an important "values debate" that will allow Democrats to cast an opposition vote against waterboarding.

Many Republicans, however, are happy to have the Mukasey debate turn into a high-profile showdown over the treatment of terrorism suspects and contended that this is profitable terrain for the party. "Democrats are demonstrating their weaknesses on security matters, which will work to their disadvantage," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.).

Norman Ornstein, a scholar on Congress at the American Enterprise Institute, agreed that Republicans would "much rather be dealing with who's tougher on terrorists." But he also noted that Mukasey, who has no political ties to Bush, could turn into an independent force within the administration. Bush has won, Ornstein said, without being able to know precisely what he will get.