Bush Complains of Senate Inaction on Appointments

WASHINGTON —  President Bush complained to Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) on Friday that 120 of his appointments are languishing in the Senate as lawmakers prepare to begin a long summer recess.

Mitchell said he told the President that he was not dragging his feet, that some delays had been requested by Republican senators and that he would be as prompt as possible.

Mitchell also said he turned down a request by Bush for an immediate vote by the full Senate on the President’s nomination of William Lucas to head the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Lucas’ nomination was rejected last week by a 7-7 vote of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“The President asked me to bring the nomination to the floor today for a vote. I refused his request, pointing out this is the last day of the session and the Senate was working hard to complete action on the savings and loan bill and extension of the debt limit--both urgently requested by the President himself,” Mitchell said after a private meeting with Bush.

Warning on Recess Action

Mitchell also indicated that he warned Bush in a letter not to seek to reappoint Lucas during the upcoming recess. Such “recess appointments,” which expire at the end of the next Senate session, are sometimes used as a method of temporarily bypassing the confirmation process.

White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said Bush was concerned about the delay in his nominations.

“The President wanted to register his deep concern that these were being held up for artificial reasons not related to the candidates themselves,” Fitzwater said.

But Mitchell said 186 of Bush’s nominations had been approved, with “several more” scheduled to be confirmed soon.

“Several of those delayed were at the request of Republican senators,” Mitchell said. “I assured the President we would continue to move on his nominations as promptly as possible consistent with careful review of their qualifications.”

Wrangling Over Backlog

The White House and the Democrat-controlled Senate have been wrangling for weeks over the backlog of Bush nominations not yet acted on by the Senate.

White House officials and Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) have contended that many of the nominations are being held up for purely political purposes.

Among those nominations caught in the logjam is Bush’s selection of Donald P. Gregg, who had been his national security adviser when he was vice president, as ambassador to South Korea. Gregg’s nomination, politically controversial because of Gregg’s alleged familiarity with the Ronald Reagan Administration’s Iran-Contra dealings, was approved by committee but has yet to receive a floor vote.

Also on hold is a batch of nominations to top-level positions in the Housing and Urban Development Department, which is the target of influence-peddling inquiries.