At his press conference just now, Sen. Arlen Specter (RD-PA) had a brief answer to the question of whether he now supported Dawn Johnsen’s nomination to be chief of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. In short, no.
Now, there’s a familiar vagueness to the question, and therefore to the answer. Specter said he “opposes” Johnsen, but, as with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), that doesn’t mean he’ll vote to filibuster her nomination. We’ll get a clearer answer on that question as soon as possible.
Late update: Specter’s staff has no updates on the senator’s position on cloture, but more details could be forthcoming soon.
