Some Republicans balk, but confirmation expected

White House counsel Harriet Miers will be sitting on the Supreme Court by Thanksgiving, Republican Senate leaders predicted yesterday, even though they face a fight from within their own ranks to get her confirmed.

Welcoming Miss Miers to the Senate, Majority Leader Bill Frist said she “understands judicial restraint” and called her a “pioneer” in Texas legal circles.

“Harriet is a nomination that we are excited about, we are pleased with,” he said as the nominee sat uncomfortably beside him in the glare of dozens of news cameras.

Miss Miers also won a quick and enthusiastic endorsement from the Senate’s top Democrat, Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who months ago advised Mr. Bush to nominate her.

“I like Harriet Miers,” he said yesterday. Later, he too posed for the cameras with Miss Miers and said four times in the six-minute event that he was “happy” with the nominee.

Not all Senate Republicans were following the party script, with several key Judiciary Committee members withholding public judgment yesterday, and some Republican staff members said they were deeply disappointed that Mr. Bush nominated someone without a paper trail that would assure them of the candidate’s conservative credentials.

Contrary to the custom of a flurry of Republican press releases heaping admiration on the president and praise on the nominee, at least two Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee — Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma — did not issue releases yesterday and declined to discuss the nominee.

Sen. George Allen, Virginia Republican and likely a 2008 presidential candidate, relied on Mr. Bush’s “outstanding track record of nominating fair-minded men and women,” but stopped well short of endorsing Miss Miers without learning more about her.

Sen. John Thune, South Dakota Republican, also issued a statement that was less than embracing.

“I will reserve judgment on this nominee until the Senate studies her qualifications,” he said. “It has been my expectation that President Bush would nominate someone in the mold of Justices [Antonin] Scalia and [Clarence] Thomas and it is my hope that Harriet Miers will prove to be such a person.”

The reaction from Democrats on Capitol Hill was one of relief, if not sheer giddiness. Asked what he thought about a political contribution Miss Miers made to former Vice President Al Gore, Mr. Reid said he didn’t know about it.

“But if she did, that speaks well of her,” he added. “That only makes me feel better about her.”

Even Sen. Charles E. Schumer, the New York Democrat who has led the filibusters of Bush nominees, was almost friendly.

“My first reaction is a simple one,” he said. “It could have been a lot worse.”

The White House and its surrogates spent most of yesterday dealing with fire from the right, pleading with conservatives to give Miss Miers a chance.

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