Roberts’ confirmation should have little effect on Sandoval nomination

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, July 28, 2005 | 9:35 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's nomination of Attorney General Brian Sandoval to be a U.S. District Court judge is in no danger of being significantly delayed by the Senate's focus on confirming Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, several sources said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is likely to put Sandoval on its hearing calendar after lawmakers return in the fall from their traditional August recess, although it's not clear exactly when, panel spokesman Blain Rethmeier said.

The committee plans to continue its work to approve District Court nominees even as it considers Roberts for the Supreme Court, Rethmeier said.

"The (background check) information we have on him (Sandoval) is complete, and it's just a matter of getting a hearing scheduled," Rethmeier said.

Sandoval's nomination also has not been hurt by the involvement of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in battling Bush over judicial nominees this year, sources said. Rethmeier said that's "not an issue."

Reid led Democrats through a rancorous debate with Republicans earlier this year over Bush's judicial nominees. As expected, Reid also has pledged that Democrats will grill Roberts in Senate confirmation hearings.

But aides to Reid and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said they have received no hint from Republican leaders that Sandoval's nomination would suffer a bit as payback to Reid.

Ensign has received no word that Sandoval's nomination would be unnecessarily delayed, Ensign spokesman Jack Finn said. He still expects it to receive prompt attention after lawmakers return, Finn said.

As Nevada's Republican senator, Ensign has the privilege of recommending people to Bush for federal jobs that require Senate approval, but he and Reid have an arrangement that allows Reid to recommend one nominee for every three Ensign recommends. It was Reid's turn, and he recommended Sandoval.

Sandoval would replace U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben, who in April began serving on a more limited "senior status" on the federal bench in Reno. Sandoval was the Nevada co-chairman of the Bush campaign last year.

"I would predict that Brian's nomination will move quickly through the Senate and will be an example of what Democrats and Republicans can achieve on judicial nominations when we work together to advance qualified consensus candidates," Reid said in March when Bush nominated Sandoval.