Outside the Beltway

White House Considering Miers Pullout Options?

James Joyner · Saturday, October 22, 2005 · 2 comments

Ralph Z. Hallow and Charles Hurt report that the White House is quietly doing contingency planning in case the Harriet Miers nomination needs to be withdrawn.

Insiders see hint of Miers pullout (Washington Times)

The White House has begun making contingency plans for the withdrawal of Harriet Miers as President Bush’s choice to fill a seat on the Supreme Court, conservative sources said yesterday. “White House senior staff are starting to ask outside people, saying, ‘We’re not discussing pulling out her nomination, but if we were to, do you have any advice as to how we should do it?’ ” a conservative Republican with ties to the White House told The Washington Times yesterday.

The White House denied making such calls. “Absolutely not true,” White House spokesman Trent Duffy said.

But a conservative political consultant with ties to the White House said that he had received such a query from Sara Taylor, director of the Office of White House Political Affairs. Miss Taylor denied making any such calls.

A second Republican, who is the leader of a conservative interest group and has ties to the White House, confirmed that the White House is making calls to a select group of conservative activists who are not employed by the government. “The political people in the White House are very worried about how she will do in the hearings,” the second conservative leader said. “I think they have finally awakened.”

Interesting. If the White House has serious concerns about how Miers will do in the hearings, they should persuade her to withdraw now. If they subject her to the hearings, then she deserves an up-or-down vote.