Kyl: August ‘Probably Too Ambitious’ for Sotomayor’s Confirmation

Democrats on Capitol Hill have made it clear that they hope to seat Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court, by Aug. 7, when Congress is slated to leave for its summer vacation.

But Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the second most senior Senate Republican, has other ideas. Asked today on Fox News about the Democrats’ August deadline, Kyl said it was “probably too ambitious a timeframe.”

But the term of the court does not begin until the beginning of October, as you know, and as a result I think there should be plenty of time to get the confirmation concluded by then.

The timeline is significant because Democrats are hoping to pass several enormous legislative priorities this year, including proposals to overhaul the nation’s health care system and, perhaps, tackle climate change. The thinking is that these efforts would go nowhere in 2010, because many lawmakers would fear the political repercussions of supporting those controversial measures in an election year.

Rather than trying to defeat Sotomayor, then, GOP leaders appear poised simply to stall her confirmation as long as possible instead. If the Democratic efforts to give Washington a voting representative (which remains stalled in the House) and pass credit card reform (which was delayed by weeks in the Senate) are any precursor, Kyl’s timeline might be closer to the mark.