The White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will make a last-ditch attempt Thursday to resolve an impasse over executive branch nominations, but prospects for reaching an accord appear murky.

Reid wants the White House to help install eight Democratic nominees to federal regulatory agencies and boards in exchange for his support for moving about 40 Republican nominees pending in the Senate. If Reid reaches a deal Thursday with Josh Bolten, the White House chief of staff, he will forgo holding so-called “pro forma” sessions during the upcoming spring recess — a move that Reid has employed in recent recesses to prevent Bush from making appointments without Senate consent.

But looming over the discussions is the nomination of Steven Bradbury to head the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department. Bradbury has faced enormous criticism from Democrats because of his role in crafting the administration’s legal opinions on interrogation techniques for terrorism suspects, and Democrats want assurances that he won’t be appointed to the post during the recess.

A Democratic leadership aide said that Bradbury is “off the table” and that the White House should instead work toward installing the eight Democratic nominees.

But the White House disagrees, saying that the criticisms have distorted the record of a well-qualified nominee.

Emily Lawrimore, a White House spokeswoman, said the president is still insisting on a “fair” up-or-down vote for Bradbury. She declined to say whether the White House would give assurances that Bradbury would not be installed during the recess.

“I would be happy to work on 40 Republicans if they will work with us on the Democrats,” Reid told reporters Wednesday. “But it’s not going to be as it was right before Christmas where they got everything and we don’t get anything.”

Shortly before Christmas, the Senate confirmed 84 nominations, but did not move on dozens of others because the White House would not give assurances that Bush would not recess-appoint Bradbury during a month-long winter break.

In response, Reid held the Senate in pro-forma sessions, in which the chamber technically stays in session but conducts no actual business. That prevents the president from using his constitutional authority to make appointments during recesses.

If Reid doesn’t reach an accord with the White House Thursday, he said, “We’ll be in pro forma sessions to stop the president from doing some of the mischievous acts of nominating and selecting people who have absolutely no chance of making it through the Senate.”

Lawrimore said the White House will “continue to work regularly with the majority leader and remain hopeful we can make progress on confirming more nominees.”

Despite Thursday’s talks, some Democrats doubted that the White House would budge on the Bradbury nomination.
“They’re like little children,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said. “They have to have their own way all the time. They don't care, and they treat Republicans and Democrats the same up here. It's their way or no way.”    

In response, Lawrimore said all the White House has sought is a fair up-or-down vote on nominees, in which senators who disapprove of the president’s choice could vote against him or her.

Included in the eight Democratic nominees are Susan McCue, Reid’s former chief of staff, to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, as well as nominees for agencies like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Another controversial nominee is looming — Hans von Spakovsky, to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Democrats, who have slammed his record on civil rights, have been locked in a procedural stalemate with Senate Republicans over considering his nomination.

The lack of FEC members has hamstrung the agency in the heat of the election season, and has affected Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) request for a ruling on his effort to withdraw from the public financing system.

Despite the uncertain outlook of resolving the impasse, earlier this month Reid agreed to allow the confirmation of Mark Filip as the No. 2 at the Justice Department as a “sign of good faith” to the White House.