Bush names conservative Alito as next Court pick

US President George W. Bush nominated conservative judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court on Monday in a move likely to set off battle with...

US President George W. Bush nominated conservative judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court on Monday in a move likely to set off battle with the Democrats as he tries to right his struggling presidency.

Bush acted quickly to find a nominee to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor for the lifetime post after loyalist Harriet Miers withdrew from consideration on Thursday. Alito is a former Justice Department official and federal prosecutor and has been an appeals court judge for 15 years. Bush said he was “confident that the Senate will be impressed by Judge Alito’s distinguished record, his measured judicial temperament, and his tremendous personal integrity”.

Democrats vowed to give careful scrutiny to Alito, who is considered a conservative in the mold of Justice Antonin Scalia, who they frequently criticise as too far to the right.

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Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid wondered “why those who want to pack the court with judicial activists are so much more enthusiastic about [Alito] than they were about Harriet Miers”. Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy called Alito a choice made from weakness and said Bush had picked a nominee “whom he hopes will stop the massive hemorrhaging of support on his right wing”.

“Alito could fundamentally alter the balance of the court and push it dangerously to the right, placing at risk decades of American progress in safeguarding our fundamental rights and freedoms,” Kennedy said. — Reuters

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