WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. appears unlikely to be blocked by the delaying tactics of a Democratic filibuster, members of a key group of senators said yesterday.
Roberts was the topic of conversation when the bipartisan "Gang of 14," which cut a deal in the spring to keep the Senate from melting down over judicial appointments, met privately for about an hour. Afterward, senators from both parties said they saw no indication that a filibuster is a prospect.
"I think the consensus was that this was a good pick," said Sen. Mike DeWine, an Ohio Republican. "I don't think anybody sees a filibuster on the horizon."
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, a Democrat from Connecticut, said no one in the group is intending to try to stall or block the nomination. But hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will be the first body to vote on Roberts' appointment, are crucial, he said.
"This nominee has very impressive academic and legal credentials," Lieberman said. "But we don't know very much about his legal philosophy."
When they brokered their compromise deal, the seven Democrats and seven Republicans preserved the use of the filibuster - the Senate's unique parliamentary stalling tactic - for judicial nominations. But they said it should be employed only in "extraordinary circumstances," a phrase that was left purposefully vague.
Yesterday, senators said no member of the group from either party had given any hint that the carefully brokered compromise would be threatened.
Sen. Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, said from the mood of the meeting, Roberts looked like a good candidate for confirmation. The committee hearings, which will be nationally televised, are expected to begin in early September.
"I think it's our hope that we don't have to play a role because the nomination was submitted to the Judiciary Committee, not the Gang of 14," Nelson said. "What I would say is we're not disbanding, but we're just simply going to watch like everybody else."
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who played host for the meeting, said the senators were "guardedly optimistic, but we want the process to play out." Like other Republicans, McCain has made supportive comments about Roberts since Bush announced the nomination Tuesday night.
