U.S. Senate: filibuster judicial nominees

President George W. Bush said he wants his picks for judicial posts to get an up-or-down vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Bush spoke during a news conference with Afghan President &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2002/09/27/37393.html - ' target=_blank>Hamid Karzai today at the White House as the Senate was heading for a showdown between Republicans and Democrats over whether Democrats can block nominees who they say hold views outside the mainstream of U.S. politics.

``My job is to pick people who will interpret the constitution and not use the bench to make law,'' Bush said in response to a question. He said his nominees, 10 of whom were blocked by Democrats during his first term, ``would bring great credit'' to the bench, publishes Bloomberg. Priscilla Owen, a member of the Texas Supreme Court, nominated to a seat on the federal appeals court. But the stakes were far broader than that, with Republicans seeking to strip Democrats of their right to filibuster nominees to the appeals court and Supreme Court.

Amid the rhetoric, Chief Justice &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/science/d?count=40 ' target=_blank>William Rehnquist was brought into the Capitol in a wheelchair for a brief visit to the office of the Capitol Physician, his presence a stark reminder of the stakes involved in the clash unfolding one floor above in the Capitol. Rehnquist, 80, is afflicted with thyroid cancer, and has been the subject of retirement rumors for months, informs ABC News.