Alito expected to be confirmed

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Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. yesterday appeared headed for confirmation to the Supreme Court after Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats exhausted their arsenal of questions without landing any devastating blows.

"It is clear to me that Judge Alito should be confirmed," said Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican and member of the committee. "And he will be confirmed."

Although Democrats on the committee seemed unified in their opposition to Judge Alito, a filibuster does not appear to be in the offing.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., Delaware Democrat and a member of the panel, told reporters that Judge Alito is "very bright and very conservative."

Mr. Biden added that although he probably will vote against him, "I think he is going to be confirmed."

"I don't see anything that indicates" a filibuster, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, said on CNN. "At this stage, I don't see anything that really indicates a filibuster."

Like other Democrats, Mrs. Feinstein warned that the sentiments of her caucus could change.

"We can only afford to lose five senators favoring Judge Alito before a filibuster is impossible," said Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat. "It's a very tight margin, and I'm not going to presume one way or the other whether my colleagues are even interested."

The Judiciary vote, expected to be a 10-8 party-line vote, is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, with a target of next Friday for a final floor vote.

Minority Leader Harry Reid said after Judge Alito completed his testimony yesterday that Democrats would meet next week to discuss a strategy.