The Justice Department is weighing whether William Lucas could be named chief civil rights enforcer on an interim basis after his rejection by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The idea was raised by Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., Tuesday after Lucas' defeat in a pair of 7-7 votes Attorney General Dick Thornburgh labeled "raw politics."A spokesman said Thornburgh is studying whether Lucas could be given a recess appointment to the job after Congress' scheduled adjournment Friday.
However, one White House official said President Bush likely would not want to anger Congress so early in his term by defying the Senate over Lucas, who was criticized by opponents as being unqualified to become assistant attorney general for civil rights.
No new names for the position are under consideration while the legality of the recess appointment option is being explored, said Robert S. Ross Jr., Thornburgh's executive assistant.
Ross said Thornburgh and his top aides were surprised by the committee's action, saying they expected the nomination would be forwarded to the full Senate where they thought Lucas would win confirmation.
A recess appointment would let Lucas serve until the term of the current Congress expires - in 1990. The final decision on whether to go that route would be up to Bush.
Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., Judiciary Committee chairman, called the notion of a recess appointment a "bad idea."