WASHINGTON — The Senate dealt another setback to the beleaguered nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday, voting to delay his confirmation for at least another week after Democrats accused the administration of withholding information.
The vote came as a blow to President Bush, who has praised Bolton as the sort of tough-talking diplomat who could help reform the United Nations. However, Bolton's nomination has been slowed by charges that he has stretched intelligence findings and bullied intelligence analysts who disagreed with him.
Thursday's delay resulted from a failed Republican effort to cut off debate, a move that required the support of three-fifths of the Senate. The 56-42 vote fell short of the 60 votes the Republican majority needed to end debate and hold a confirmation vote.
Despite the holdup, Republicans vowed to bring the nomination up again after the Memorial Day recess, and predicted they would muster the votes to confirm Bolton.
The first casualty of Thursday's vote, however, may have been the spirit of compromise achieved Monday when a group of 14 moderate and maverick Democratic and Republican senators signed an agreement on judicial nominees.
In that compromise -- which pulled the Senate back from what could have become a paralyzing partisan confrontation -- seven Democrats promised to filibuster judicial nominees only in "extraordinary circumstances" in return for Republicans promising not to vote to change the filibuster rules that allow the minority party to hold up nominations.
"Well, John Bolton is in extraordinary-circumstance purgatory right now," said an angry Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), when asked whether the Democrats' actions Thursday undermined the spirit of the agreement.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) issued a statement excoriating the Democrats: "Some 72 hours after hailing an agreement that sought to end partisan filibusters, the Democrats have launched yet another partisan filibuster.... Given the chance to advance the cause of comity in the Senate, the Democrats have chosen partisan confrontation over cooperation."
But Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the minority leader, denied that Democrats were seeking to torpedo Bolton's nomination. He said Democrats were prepared to give Bolton an up-or-down vote after the administration provides the information that they have requested.
