http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...110901185.html

Bolton Nomination Looks Dead

By Daniela Deane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 9, 2006; 5:46 PM

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John R. Bolton's prospects for staying on past the end of the year appeared dead today after a crucial Republican senator said he would continue to block the nomination and a leading Democratic lawmaker said he saw "no point" in considering it again.
The developments were yet another blow to the Bush administration two days after Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterm elections and the day after President Bush replaced embattled Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld.
Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a pivotal vote on the controversial Bolton nomination, announced today he would continue his opposition to the confirmation. Chafee lost his Senate seat in Tuesday's midterm elections and later said voters had shown their "rage" at the Bush administration.
"The American people have spoken out against the president's agenda on a number of fronts, and presumably one of those is on foreign policy," Chafee told reporters in Rhode Island, according to news agency reports. "And at this late stage in my term, I'm not going to endorse something the American people have spoke out against."
The White House resubmitted Bolton's nomination to the Senate today in a last-ditch effort to get him confirmed before the new Congress takes power.
Bolton's long-stalled nomination was already blocked by the current Republican-led Senate after President Bush nominated him last year. His chances looked dead in the water after the new Democratic-led Congress convened in January.
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), the incoming chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the new Democratic-led Senate, issued a statement today saying he saw "no point" in considering Bolton's nomination again.
Biden said that regardless of what happened at the committee level, Bolton was "unlikely to be considered by the full Senate."
"Mr. Bolton did not get a vote in the full Senate last year because the administration refused, with no justification, to allow the Senate to review documents highly relevant to his nomination," Biden said in the statement. "These included National Security Agency intercepts Mr. Bolton asked to see in order to learn the identity of American citizens referenced in the intercepts. Unless the Administration provides the Senate with the documents it is entitled to see, Mr. Bolton should not get a vote."
Bush defied Senate opposition last year and installed Bolton as the U.N. envoy under a temporary recess appointment that ends when the new Congress is seated. Bolton is a lightning-rod figure among diplomats for what is described as his outspoken, confrontational style.
"This is something that we think is important, that he [Bolton] stay there," White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters at the White House this morning. "John Bolton has been an extraordinarily capable and accomplished United Nations ambassador."
Snow said Bush discussed his desire to get Bolton confirmed during a breakfast meeting with Republican congressional leaders at the White House this morning.
A vote on Bolton's nomination was postponed in September by the committee after Chafee voiced doubts about whether he could support Bolton. The outgoing senator said at the time that he would not vote for Bolton until after the administration addressed questions he had on Middle East policy.
Bush and national Republicans campaigned hard for Chafee's reelection, expecting a payback on Bolton.
The outgoing Congress is set to convene next week to wrap up outstanding business before the end of the session. Bush is also seeking confirmation for Robert Gates as his nominee to replace outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld