| Posted by fluffy ® , Sep 04,2003,12:08 | MetroBlab |
Sept. 4, 2003 | WASHINGTON (AP) -- Miguel Estrada, President Bush's embattled nominee for a federal appeals court judgeship, has withdrawn his name from consideration, ending a bitter battle with Senate Democrats who blocked his nomination, administration officials said Thursday.
Estrada wrote a letter to Bush explaining his reasons, and an announcement could be made as early as Thursday, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Estrada was one of a handful of federal judicial nominees named by Bush who became lightening rods during the Senate confirmation process, where Democrats argued they were too conservative to serve on the nation's second highest court.
Republicans countered that the Democrats were biased, noting Estrada was a Hispanic.
The monthslong battle came to head in July when Senate Republicans mounted a weeklong effort to get the nominations through. Democrats successfully filibustered that attempt.
Bush nominated Estrada to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington more than two years ago. Senate Republicans were never able to get the necessary 60 votes to end the Democratic filibuster and get his nomination to the Senate floor for a vote.
Estrada is a Honduran immigrant who graduated from Harvard Law School, served in the Justice Department during the Clinton administration and practices law in Washington, D.C.
Other Bush judicial nominees to the appeals court who have run into opposition over the last few years include Mississippi jurist Charles Pickering, Texas judge Priscilla Owen and Alabama Attorney General William Pryor.