Monday, December 04, 2006
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Saying U.N. Ambassador John Bolton "served his country with extraordinary dedication and skill," President Bush expressed disappointment Monday that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not allow a vote on his nomination.
"I am deeply disappointed that a handful of United States Senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up or down vote he deserved in the Senate," Bush said Monday in a statement. "They chose to obstruct his confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate, and even though their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time. This stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country, and discourages men and women of talent from serving their Nation."
With the shift of power from Republicans to Democrats in Congress, prospects for Senate confirmation were dimmed. Sen. Joe Biden -- the Democrat expected to chair the Senate Foreign Relations committee in the next session -- has said Bolton's nomination was "going nowhere."
Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a Republican on the Committee who lost his reelection bid in Rhode Island, also said he remained opposed to Bolton's nomination.
-- CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
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