US Senate approves conservative Ashcroft for attorney-general

11:00 AM

WASHINGTON - A sharply divided US Senate has confirmed John Ashcroft as attorney general on a 58-42 vote with an overwhelming majority of Democrats sending President George W. Bush a "shot across the bow" by voting no.

All 50 Senate Republicans, plus eight Democrats, backed Ashcroft, an ardent conservative and hero to the religious right.

Democrats said their nearly united front against Ashcroft - 42 of 50 Senate Democrats - should be read as a warning by Bush that he can expect an even tougher fight if he ever again offers such a conservative nominee.

Ashcroft, 58, Bush's most controversial Cabinet-level nominee, promised during confirmation hearings that he would enforce all the nation's laws, even ones he had opposed, like abortion rights, gay rights and gun control.

Republicans said Ashcroft should be taken at his word, but a number of Democrats challenged him, along with a coalition of more than 200 largely liberal special-interest groups, including the National Organization for Women, Handgun Control and the powerful labour movement AFL-CIO.

Sen. Kit Bond, a Missouri Republican, said a number of Democrats told him they voted against Ashcroft because of fear of retaliation at the polls by liberal groups.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat who helped lead the charge against Ashcroft, said opposition was based on distrust of Ashcroft, not fear of liberal groups.

"I hope this vote sends a very strong message to the president" about the commitment by Senate Democrats to civil rights, Kennedy said.

Approval of Ashcroft, 58, leaves only one of Bush's Cabinet level nominees to be confirmed by the Senate 12 days after his inauguration. Robert Zoellick, Bush's choice for US trade representative, will be voted on next Wednesday (NZ time) and is expected to be approved, probably unanimously.

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