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Good News:

Specter Effectively Wins Senate Judiciary Chair

Thu Nov 18, 5:04 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, a Republican defender of abortion rights, effectively won his battle on Thursday for the chairmanship of the committee that reviews judicial nominees.

Fellow Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, some of whom earlier voiced concerns about him, stood by Specter as he vowed to help win Senate confirmation for President Bush's judicial candidates.

"I have assured the president that I would give his nominees quick committee hearings and early committee votes so (Senate) floor action could be promptly scheduled," Specter, of Pennsylvania, said in a statement at a news conference.

Specter wrote the statement with input from Republicans after an earlier draft was rejected as inadequate, a Senate aide said.

"Members wanted a stronger statement and got it," the aide said.

Consequently, Specter's nine fellow Republicans on the Judiciary Committee came out in support of him succeeding Orrin Hatch of Utah as the panel's chair when the new 109th Congress convenes in January.

"We are unanimously in favor of Senator Arlen Specter and will vote that way come January," said Hatch, who must step down because of Republican term limits on chairmanships.

"As far as I am concerned, this settles the issue," said Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican on the Judiciary Committee.

While anti-abortion rights groups have long had concerns about Specter, opposition mounted after the Nov. 2 election when he made what was seen as a warning to Bush not to offer Supreme Court nominees who opposed abortion rights.

Specter has said he was merely pointing out that nominees would need bipartisan support to clear Democratic procedural hurdles. He has also noted he had backed all of Bush's judicial nominees so far.