WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- The ranking Democratic senator on the Judiciary Committee said Wednesday he will vote for Judge John Roberts for chief justice of the United States.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., announced his decision on the Senate floor, the day before the Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on Roberts' nomination.
Leahy called Roberts a "man of integrity" and said he doesn't pose an ideological threat.
Many members of the Democratic Party as well as liberal lobbyist groups say Roberts poses a threat to abortion rights and other civil rights and several Democrats have said they will oppose the nomination. However, with 55 Republicans in the Senate, it is expected Roberts will be chief justice when the Supreme Court begins its term Oct. 3.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced he would vote against Roberts. Reid, considered a moderate, said Roberts wasn't forthright enough with his answers during questioning by the Judiciary Committee last week.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a member of the committee, said he would vote against Roberts. Massachusetts' other U.S. senator -- 2004 Democratic Party candidate for president John Kerry, also said he would vote against the nomination.
