Frist vowing to fight on

WASHINGTON — Removing any doubt about his intentions, Sen. Bill Frist, the Republican majority leader, said Friday that he would seek next week to advance the nominations of two judicial candidates opposed by Democrats and seek a change in Senate rules to prevent filibusters against the nominees should Democrats block a vote.

"It is time for 100 senators to decide the issue of fair up or down votes for judicial nominees after over two years of unprecedented obstructionism," the office of Frist, R-Tenn., said in a statement. The declaration set the stage for what is expected to be an intricate dance of procedure and politics.

The majority leader's office said the showdown would focus on two state Supreme Court justices, Priscilla R. Owen of Texas and Janice Rogers Brown of California. Democrats have refused to allow final votes on their nominations to federal appeals courts, saying the two have compiled disqualifying records of conservative judicial activism.

Senior aides to Frist said they expect the debate will open Wednesday and could stretch for days, moving toward a series of decisive votes. They predicted the fight would end before Memorial Day.

Democrats, who say the Republican majority is threatening the very nature of the Senate, said they were ready to engage.

"I welcome this debate," Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the minority leader, said in a statement. "The time has come for Republican senators to decide whether they will abide by the rules of the Senate, or break those rules for the first time in 217 years of American history."

Democrats said they believed the Republican leadership was still uncertain it had enough votes to force a rules change. They said the debate would give Democrats a closely watched platform to outline both their objections to the judges and the argument against eliminating the filibusters against court nominees.

The two Senate leaders and other senators are still trying to negotiate a compromise that would head off the vote on the rules change. Lawmakers and aides mapping strategy said that a compromise could emerge at any point, even after the debate begins.

Aides who are following the negotiations among senators outside the leadership said there was new interest in a proposal allowing floor votes on two of the four most contentious nominations. Until now, Democrats have publicly offered votes on only one of the four. A final deal is not expected to gel, however, until the confrontation is nearer.