WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Democratic control of the U.S. Senate means President George W. Bush will have a harder time getting judicial nominees confirmed, The New York Times reports.
Four especially conservative presidential picks for the federal appeals court appear to have no chance of being confirmed, the newspaper said. They would have to be confirmed during the lame duck congressional session.
The four are William J. Haynes II, who worked on military interrogation policy as a Pentagon lawyer; William G. Myers III, a mining and ranching lobbyist; Terrence W. Boyle, a federal judge in North Carolina; and Michael B. Wallace, a Mississippi lawyer rated unqualified by the American Bar Association.
Some Democrats told the Times Bush could demonstrate his willingness to work with them by appointing less conservative judges.
Democrats could also do what Republicans did in the last two years of former President Bill Clinton's administration -- hold up judicial confirmations in the hope that the White House will change hands.
