President Bush nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court on Monday to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Ms. Miers has never been a judge.
"She has devoted her life to the rule of law and the cause of justice," Bush said. Miers was the first woman to serve as president of the Texas State Bar and the Dallas Bar Association.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist outlined a timetable calling for confirmation by Thanksgiving. Senator Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made no commitment, saying he wanted a thorough confirmation proceeding.
Within hours of Bush's announcement in the Oval Office, Miers travelled to the Capitol to begin courtesy calls on the senators who will vote on her nomination.
The nomination triggerred outrage from conservatives who questioned whether she would uphold their political views. Miers is a lawyer but not a judge and her opinions on key issues likely to come before the high court are largely unknown. Conservatives immediately protested the nomination as a betrayal of the President's campaign promise to pick conservative judges, pointing to her past campaign donations to Democrats.
"I believe that senators of both parties will find that Harriet Miers' talent, experience and judicial philosophy make her a superb choice to safeguard the constitutional liberties and equality of all Americans," Bush said.
Democrats said much was unknown about Miers and that she would undergo intense scrutiny by the Senate. The White House noted some Democrats had urged Bush to consider Miers but would give no names. One of those, however, was SenateMinority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat.
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