Nomination Wars

Late Thursday night, the Senate confirmed dozens of Clinton Administration nominees. But Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., blamed the White House and former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, rather than Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Jesse Helms, R-N.C., for the stalemate over Weld's nomination to be the next ambassador to Mexico.

Among those approved were:

• Phil Lader, a longtime friend of President Clinton, to be ambassador to Britain.
• New York investment banker Felix G. Rohatyn, to be ambassador to France.
• James Collins, a career diplomat, to be ambassador to Russia.
• John Kornblum, the former assistant secretary for European and Canadian affairs, to be ambassador to Germany.
• Jane Garvey, to head the Federal Aviation Administration.

Lott, though, said Weld's nomination "has not been handled well by the administration or the nominee. It's very flaky."

Lott criticized Weld, a moderate Republican, for antagonizing the conservative Helms by holding a press conference to protest Helms' refusal to schedule a hearing on his nomination.

Said Lott: "Diplomats are supposed to stop fights, not start them. I mean, Jeez!"

Referring to Weld, Lott declared: "My advice to him is accept consideration for another position, or look for work."

Lott declined to challenge Helms' position and said, "Chairmen of committees have prerogatives and responsibilities. They have certain rights that should be honored. I'm not going to dictate to them."

Asked whether Weld deserves a hearing to make his case, Lott responded, "That's up to the chairman of the committee."

Weld spent Thursday shuttling from the State Department to the White House to the Senate, where he met with Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, both D-Mass., and Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., who could be a key vote on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Sounding more like a general than a diplomat, Weld said "it could be a land war, it could be an air war" to win an ambassadorial post, the Associated Press reported.

But, after Lott's blast, Weld was suddenly silent, and his supporters said the August recess could not come soon enough.

Marc Thiessen, the Foreign Relations Committee spokesman, told the AP that Weld's posture indicated he was more interested in a fight than an ambassadorship, declaring, "Weld doesn't want to become ambassador to Mexico."

Helms is reported to be irked by remarks Weld made during an unsuccessful run for the Senate last year, when Weld danced around the question of whether, if elected, he would support Helms' continued chairmanship of the Foreign Relations panel.

Helms also disagrees with Weld's support for using marijuana for medical purposes and distributing clean needles to drug addicts to prevent the spread of AIDS.

The White House gave no hint of surrender.

"We don't see how the majority leader or Chairman Helms can deny a fair hearing," White House Press Secretary Michael McCurry said, adding, "The president assured Governor Weld in their meeting today that not only would he press hard to try to get a fair hearing for the governor, but we would work hard ultimately to see that he is confirmed."

Declared McCurry: "The heat is just beginning to be turned up, and we've got a long ways to go in that nomination fight. Sen. Lott's statement is not going to be the last word on it."

With respect to Weld's visible campaigning for the job and his criticism of Helms, McCurry earlier said, "It is appropriate for anyone to defend their record, especially a nominee who is very high profile."

Meanwhile, eight Republican senators, in a letter to Helms dated Monday, urged him to give Weld a hearing.

Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, John Chafee of Rhode Island, James Jeffords of Vermont, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and Gordon Smith of Oregon signed the letter.

Senate Minority Leader Daschle Thursday said Weld is "extraordinarily qualified" to be ambassador to Mexico, and contended the Weld situation is only the most visible item on a long list of presidential nominees awaiting Senate action.

"He is the poster boy for a lot of nominees who are waiting to be confirmed," Daschle said.