Specter used the press conference to chide Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.) for his calling for confirmation by Thanksgiving. Specter declined to set a timetable, although when asked if it could drag out until January 2006, he dismissed such talk.
“It would be inappropriate for the committee to make a commitment until the committee sees more about what the scope of the job is,” Specter said.
Asked later about a 2006 confirmation, Specter said: “We have time in November, and then we have all of December. I would not expect it to go into the new year. I think we’ll have plenty of time this year. But I think it not advisable to make a commitment to a timetable.”
