WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday endorsed the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel A. Alito Jr. in a vote that split along party lines and highlighted disputes over his conservative judicial record.
The full Senate will begin its debate on Alito today and a vote on his selection by President Bush to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor could come by the end of the week. Alito is expected to narrowly win confirmation and, as a justice, tilt the court to the right.
O'Connor, 75, frequently sided with the court's more liberal members on an array of social issues, providing the swing vote on some decisions. Alito, 55, probably would take more conservative positions in many cases, including those involving abortion rights and the death penalty.
In Tuesday's committee vote, all of the panel's 10 Republicans supported Alito, praising him as an accomplished federal appellate judge who, on the high court, would follow the law, not try to rewrite it.
"If anybody has demonstrated judicial temperament and poise and patience, it is Judge Alito," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the committee's chairman. "He ought to be confirmed on that basis alone."
All the committee's eight Democrats voted against Alito, with several saying they were especially concerned that his record and his testimony to the panel this month suggested he would not move to curb Bush's efforts to expand his wartime powers.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who does not serve on the committee, echoed the complaints about Alito in announcing that he would oppose his nomination.
"Judge Alito has failed to demonstrate a commitment to the system of checks and balances enshrined in our Constitution," Reid said. "At a time when the president is abusing his power at every turn, I cannot vote to confirm a judge who won't be an independent check on the executive branch."
But Democrats stopped short of calling for a filibuster -- the only apparent way the minority party could derail Alito's nomination in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Asked whether he would mount such a parliamentary tactic against Alito, Reid answered, "No," although he refused to rule out the possibility.
Specter said he was glad that Alito received the formal nod from the panel, but expressed regret at the partisan outcome of the vote.
"I am personally sorry to see a party-line vote out of this committee, and perhaps very close to a party-line vote out of the full Senate," Specter said. "But we all have our points of view."
