Missing: The Drug Czar
The rolling hold on John Walters’s confirmation.

ohn Walters, former deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, was nominated by President Bush over five months ago to fill the post of drug czar, but at this late date is still awaiting confirmation by the Senate.

Having finally made it past the Judiciary Committee in a 14-5 vote early this month, after a long delay precipitated by controversy over his hard-line stance on the drug war — and, of course, extended by the terrorist attacks — Walters now awaits a floor vote on his nomination to head the ONDCP. With his final confirmation all but assured, it seems that a new delay is underway, the nature of which remains unclear.

In mid-November, the White House undertook a campaign to step up pressure on foot-dragging Senate Democrats to confirm Walters, tying the nomination to the war on terrorism. "We need to act quickly," Rep. Rob Portman (R., Ohio) told reporters at a press conference after a meeting with White House officials. "Just as [President Bush] needs a general in the war in Afghanistan, he needs a general in the battle in the United States to reduce substance abuse."

So far, however, the White House's push has not lead to any guaranteed timeframe for a vote. Even many close to the confirmation battle have been left in the dark as to why that is. "We don't really know, at least over here on our end," said Jim Morrell, a spokesman for Rep. Portman. "It could really be that Daschle just hasn't scheduled the vote," he said. Or, he said, it could be something called a "rolling hold."

A senator is permitted to put an anonymous hold on a nomination for 24 hours before they either have to remove it or reveal that they have placed it. In a rolling hold, the hold is passed from senator to senator as a delaying tactic. Currently, no one is owning up to having a hold placed, or to orchestrating a rolling hold.

Tom Daschle's office strongly denied a story run by an inside-the-beltway publication indicating that the Majority Leader's office was behind the hold. Others have pointed the finger at Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, whose office also strongly denied that the senator is responsible.

For now, no one is talking. But it is widely expected that Mr. Walters will be confirmed before the end of this session, and could be confirmed as early as this week.

If nothing else, the groups critical of John Walters — who is vehemently opposed to medical marijuana, supports an increase in interdiction activities, and who has openly derided the effectiveness of drug treatment (earning him the opposition of the Betty Ford Center) — hope that the delay will lead a bit more debate over the direction of America's drug policies.

Unfortunately, however, the administration seems to be pushing an interdiction-focused strategy, now being tied to the war on terrorism. Portman spokesman Morrell echoed this tenuous line last week, saying, "It's the only cabinet level post that hasn't been filled yet, which is ridiculous when we're fighting a war against terrorism, and there are links between drug trafficking and funding of terrorism."