Divided panel says no to endorsing Bolton

Administration officials and GOP lawmakers said they were confident Bolton would win approval from the GOP-controlled Senate, where they said few if any Republicans would join Voinovich in opposition. The embattled nominee might also pick up as many as three Democratic votes, they added. Bolton ‘‘is the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be,’’ Voinovich said in a blistering speech that surprised even Democrats with its ferocity. ‘‘I have come to the determination that the US can do better than John Bolton,’’ he said, adding that Bolton’s behavior at the State Department would get him fired in the private sector.

Bolton’s failure to win unconditional approval amounted to a rebuke of the White House, which has put tremendous pressure on Republican lawmakers to support Bolton. Several GOP lawmakers on the committee expressed deep misgivings, though they said they would vote for him, while the committee chairman, Richard Lugar, gave only a lukewarm support.

Democrats alleged Bolton sought to oust intelligence analysts, stretched intelligence views, was abusive to subordinates and gave misleading testimony to the committee. In the past three weeks, the committee staff has interviewed nearly 30 people and examined hundreds of documents to address allegations stretching back two decades.

Sending a nomination without a recommendation has become common for judicial posts, but it has happened only twice for diplomatic positions, most recently in 1993. —LAT-WP