U.N. envoy confirmation unlikely

UNITED NATIONS —  John R. Bolton’s prospects for remaining the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations dwindled Thursday as Democrats and a key Republican senator rejected efforts to have the still-Republican- controlled Senate confirm his nomination.

The White House continued to explore ways to keep Bolton at the U.N. without going through a confirmation process.

Outgoing Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), who holds the swing vote that would determine whether the evenly split foreign relations committee reconsiders Bolton, said he would not support the nomination, which the White House resubmitted Thursday.

“To confirm Mr. Bolton to the position of U.N. ambassador would fly in the face of the clear consensus of the country that a new direction is called for,” he told a news conference in Rhode Island. Chafee lost his reelection bid Tuesday.

“I have long believed that the go-it-alone philosophy that has driven this administration’s approach to international relations has damaged our leadership position in the world,” Chafee said.

When senators blocked Bolton’s nomination last year, Bush put him in the position using a special recess appointment that expires upon Congress’ adjournment this year.

In September, Bolton’s nomination came up again. Chafee, who had expressed reservations about Bolton’s style of diplomacy and his effectiveness, came under intense pressure from Democrats and Republicans.

Chafee requested then that the hearing on Bolton be delayed until after the election, citing unresolved questions about the administration’s Middle East policy.

Chafee said Thursday: “Mr. Bolton does not demonstrate the kind of collaborative approach that I believe will be called for if we are to restore the United States’ position as the strongest country in a peaceful world.”

Chafee’s comments echoed those of Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), who is expected to be chairman of the foreign relations committee when the Democrats take control of the Senate in January.

Biden said Thursday that Bolton would not get a Senate hearing until the White House provided relevant National Security Agency documents that the committee requested last year.

“I see no point in considering Mr. Bolton’s nomination,” Biden said.

That leaves the White House to decide how hard it wants to push Bolton for the post in the face of a decisive defeat in Tuesday’s election, and how he could stay in the job without going through confirmation hearings.

He could technically receive a second recess appointment, but under U.S. law, could not be paid for his work under those circumstances.

Other possibilities include creating a position that would allow him to continue his work at the U.N., such as ambassador-at-large for U.N. issues, or special advisor to the president for the United Nations, said one U.S. diplomat.

White House lawyers have also proposed appointing Bolton as deputy ambassador, which does not require a Senate confirmation, and allowing him to perform as the acting ambassador.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), said Bush was making a political error by “trying to jam this nomination through” in defiance of the demand for change expressed by voters this week. “Sadly, Mr. Bolton doesn’t represent change but a failed status quo.”

Names being floated as possible contenders to replace Bolton include former Sen. George Mitchell (D-Maine); Zalmay Khalilzad, now U.S. ambassador to Iraq; and Paula Dobriansky, undersecretary of State for democracy and global affairs. Chafee’s name has also been mentioned.

On Thursday, White House spokesman Tony Snow said the administration considered it important for Bolton to stay at the U.N.

And the White House national security advisor, Stephen Hadley said the administration hoped “people will step back and look” at Bolton’s record at the U.N. over the last year.

“John has done a terrific job,” Hadley told reporters at a news briefing. “He has gotten out of the United Nations some very important resolutions on some of the most important issues for our national security.”

Hadley pointed specifically to resolutions on North Korea, “which many people thought we could not get.”

“He has been a champion of reform, and he has been a clear advocate of American values,” Hadley said.

At the United Nations, reviews of Bolton’s performance have been mixed, but most diplomats agree that he hasn’t turned out to be the destructive force that they feared he would be.

Though he threatened to withhold U.S. contributions to the U.N. until institutional changes were made, last-minute compromises by the State Department minimized the diplomatic damage.

His prediction that the new Human Rights Council would be worse than the dysfunctional body it replaced turned out to be true, though some diplomats say that U.S. failure to support the body made his prophecy a self-fulfilling one.

In the Security Council, Bolton has forged agreements with colleagues on several difficult issues, including two unanimous sanctions resolutions on North Korea. He also counts as victories putting Myanmar, formerly Burma, on the Security Council agenda, and blocking Venezuela from a seat on the Security Council, where it would have had a high-profile anti-U.S. platform.

“He is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” said Edward C. Luck, director of Columbia University’s Center on International Organization. “He has done remarkably well on big issues in the council, but he treats the rest of the institution with disdain.”

Luck continued: “If he wants to achieve reform, which was supposed to be his strength, his performance is highly disappointing. But if he wants to show that the U.N. is unreformable, he is doing a good job of it.”

In New York on Thursday, Bolton received the news about Chafee’s rejection as he was about to meet with key ambassadors on a sanctions resolution for Iran. He declined to comment.

But Bolton has been giving hints that his days may be numbered. This week, when a loyal staffer returned from a vacation with a new beard and told Bolton he wasn’t going to shave until the ambassador was confirmed, Bolton quipped, “You may be waiting awhile.”

maggie.farley@latimes.com

Times staff writer Jim Gerstenzang in Washington contributed to this report.