Only 14 U.S. Appeals Court nominees have been sent to the Senate so far, including William J. Riley to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis on Wednesday. There are about 100 lower court vacancies, and if a Supreme Court justice retires before January 2005, Bush would pick his replacement. The usually talkative Democrats refused to speculate on what would happen to Bush's nominees if they take over the Senate. While all three could claim the chairmanship if the Democrats take over, the incumbent, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he expected Leahy to have a second term as chairman. Leahy ran the committee in January before Bush was inaugurated and Republicans took control of the Senate.
Republicans say they are holding out hope for bipartisanship with judicial nominations.
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