WASHINGTON — As he prepares to leave the Senate and position himself for a presidential bid, Bill Frist faces mounting criticism that he has proved an ineffectual majority leader whose legislative agenda increasingly is dictated by his White House ambitions.
Complaints about the patrician Tennessean by fellow Republicans intensified this week, sparked by his decision to force Senate debate on illegal immigration. Some GOP lawmakers say his move spotlighted a squabble within the party over a hot-button issue in an election year.
"We should have had a much more ambitious process of trying to build consensus and bringing people and different views together before we engaged in debate on the Senate floor," Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) told reporters.
But grumbling about the majority leader and the decisions he has made were evident before the flap over immigration.
"People have noticed that the [Senate] agenda is driven, at least in part, by issues that he wants to have on the floor, to have accomplishments on," said one senior GOP Senate aide.
He and several other aides discussed Frist on condition of anonymity, citing concerns of affecting work relationships. But their comments reflected the growing discontent with his performance.
The more pointed such criticism becomes, the more it could undermine Frist's efforts to springboard to the White House.
"I don't think that he's made much of an impression outside Washington as a strong leader," said David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, a leading advocacy group among Republicans.
Frist declined to respond to the criticisms, but his aides vigorously dispute them. They also contend that he has compiled an impressive list of legislative accomplishments that he will add to before November's midterm elections.
Still, in an interview Tuesday with the Associated Press, Frist seemed to suggest he would be glad to put his legislative career behind him.
Asked whether it would be hard to run a presidential campaign from his majority leader post, he replied: "Terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible."
He added that upon retiring from the Senate at year's end, "You'll see, as you do now, the real Bill Frist -- but unencumbered by having responsibilities of leading this body, which results in negotiated positions."
Frist had pledged to serve only two terms when he first campaigned for his Senate seat in 1994. He stood by that promise even after his ascension to majority leader in December 2002.
