WASHINGTON – President Bush nominated Harriet Ellan Miers, his White House counsel and former personal attorney, to the Supreme Court on Monday, choosing a woman who broke barriers in the male-dominated Texas legal world but without experience as a judge at any level.
In his nationally televised statement, Bush simultaneously introduced Miers, 60, who would succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and defended her legal resume, which came under immediate attack from some conservative groups.
| Birth date: Aug. 10, 1945, in Dallas.
Education: B.S., Southern Methodist University, 1967, mathematics major; J.D., Southern Methodist University School of Law, 1970. Experience: February 2005-present, White House counsel; 2003-2004, White House deputy chief of staff for policy; 2001-2003, White House staff secretary; 1995-2000, chairwoman, Texas Lottery Commission; 1972-2000, private law practice; 1992, president, State Bar of Texas; 1989-1991, member, Dallas City Council; 1985, president, Dallas Bar Association. Family: Single, no children. Associated Press |
“In selecting a nominee, I’ve sought to find an American of grace, judgment and unwavering devotion to the Constitution and laws of our country. Harriet Miers is just such a person,” Bush said. “I’ve known Harriet for more than a decade. I know her heart, I know her character.”
Bush described Miers, who if confirmed would be the third woman to sit on the Supreme Court, as a legal pioneer who repeatedly overcame gender barriers to reach the highest levels of her profession. Before being named White House counsel last year, she served as White House deputy chief of staff and staff secretary, a job in which she reviewed virtually every document that went before the president.
Prior to joining the Bush administration, Miers was Bush’s personal attorney in Texas and served as general counsel of his gubernatorial campaign committee. As governor, Bush appointed Miers chairman of the scandal-plagued Texas Lottery Commission, where she earned a reputation as a tough manager after firing two executive directors.
Outside of her political work for Bush, Miers was a partner at the Texas law firm of Locke Liddell &Sapp, served two years on the Dallas City Council, and was the first woman to be head of the State Bar of Texas Bar.
In 1996, Bush called her a pit bull in size 6 shoes. “When it comes to a cross-examination, she can fillet better than Mrs. Paul,” he said on another occasion, referring to a frozen fish company.
Bush’s nomination of Miers splintered the Republican Party’s conservative base, with reaction from key senators and groups ranging from hostility to silence to praise.
Several right-leaning outsiders seemed bewildered by the choice of a relatively little-known White House counsel who has given money to Democratic candidates – including the 1988 presidential campaign of Democratic former Vice President Al Gore – and who was recommended for the job by Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
“I know of nothing in Harriet Miers’ background that would qualify her for an appointment to the Supreme Court,” said Roger Pilon, founder of the libertarian Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies.
Rush Limbaugh repeatedly challenged Vice President Dick Cheney on the nomination in a Monday interview.
In the Senate, which will confirm or reject Miers this fall, the nomination triggered a mixture of praise and reserve that, on balance, seemed to bode well for her confirmation, veteran staffers said. The acclaim she received from GOP leaders was expected, they said.
Less predictable were the accolades from Reid, the Democratic leader, which turned heads in both parties. “I have to say without any qualification that I’m very happy that we have someone like her,” Reid said.
Washington state’s two Democratic senators reacted with caution.
“Is she ethical, honest and qualified? Will she be evenhanded, fair and independent; and will she uphold our rights and liberties? We have much to learn about Harriet Miers and I will not pass judgment until I have all the facts,” Sen. Patty Murray said in statement.
Sen. Maria Cantwell said in a brief statement that she “will be looking to understand (Miers’) judicial philosophy.”
Miers’ supporters tried to appease conservatives by releasing information suggesting she opposes abortion rights. Publicist Keith Appell issued a statement saying, “According to Kyleen Wright at Texans for Life, Harriet Miers gave $150 to the organization – then known as Texans United for Life – in 1989. Miers was a bronze patron for their annual dinner in which Henry Hyde was the keynote speaker.” Hyde, a U.S. House member from Illinois, is a leading opponent of legalized abortion.
Two prominent conservatives endorsed Miers, including American Center for Law and Justice Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, who has become a close White House ally. James Dobson of Focus on the Family said, “We welcome the president’s nomination. … (Bush) promised to select competent judges who will ‘not use the bench to write social policy.’ … We believe that she will not prove to be a lone exception.”
In private, some conservative leaders voiced concern that Miers could become “another David Souter,” the Supreme Court justice picked by President Bush’s father who has turned out to be a reliable member of the court’s liberal wing.
Some groups on the right flatly opposed Miers’s confirmation Monday. “We must reject the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, said Troy Newman, president of the anti-abortion-rights group Operation Rescue.
Through a spokesman, Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said he would like to have Miers confirmation hearings start in time for a vote on the nomination before the Senate leaves for its Thanksgiving recess.
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