President Bush Picks Former Senator to Aid Supreme Court Vote 
Email this article
Printer friendly page
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 6, 2005
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — President Bush on Wednesday named former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson to guide his eventual Supreme Court nominee through the Senate voting process. Thompson is an attorney who became an actor and then elected to the Senate.
White House spokesman spokesman Scott McClellan said Thompson agreed on Monday to assist the president. He indicated Thompson will serve as an informal advisor and shepherd the nomination through the Senate.
During his tenure in the Senate, Thompson compiled a solid voting record on pro-life issues, according to the National Right to Life Committee.
Thompson voted consistently against using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions in a number of circumstances and he voted twice against adding an amendment to the partial-birth abortion ban expressing the Senate’s support for the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
Ed Gillespie, former Republican National Committee chairman, will also help President Bush with the confirmation process and help handle lobbying and media relations.
Thompson rose to fame during the Watergate era and has been a character actor on a number of movies and television shows. He currently plays a role on the NBC crime drama "Law and Order."
He was elected in 1994 to fill the term of Al Gore, who had been selected by Bill Clinton as his running mate. He was re-elected in 1996 and chose not to run again in 2002.
