Harriet Miers

President Bush suggested Wednesday that Harriet Miers' evangelical Christian beliefs were part of the reason he nominated her to the Supreme Court. But later a White House spokesman said her religion played no role in her selection. "People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers," Bush told reporters at the White House. "They want to know Harriet Miers' background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. " "Part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion," Bush said during Oval Office comments with visiting Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski.

President Bush nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers on Monday to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Miers, 60, was the first woman to head the State Bar of Texas. She has never been a judge. An outspoken supporter of the Bush administration, she was a leader of its search for potential candidates to fill Supreme Court posts. A White House official said that at the same time, Bush considered her as a nominee without her knowledge. In a televised announcement from the White House, Bush called Miers "exceptionally well-suited" for the high court.

The Supreme Court's 2005-2006 term got off to an eventful start on Monday with John Roberts hearing his first case as chief justice of the United States and President Bush naming his pick to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Then there was the business of the day -- the justices were hearing arguments in an employment rights case and a Native American sovereignty case. Roberts took his place on the court after a special investiture ceremony. He was sworn in by Justice John Paul Stevens, who served as head of the court following the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist last month.

Following is a statement by President Bush released Thursday on his acceptance of Harriet Miers' withdrawal as a Supreme Court nominee: Today, I have reluctantly accepted Harriet Miers' decision to withdraw her nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States. I nominated Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court because of her extraordinary legal experience, her character and her conservative judicial philosophy. Throughout her career, she has gained the respect and admiration of her fellow attorneys.

President Bush on Thursday accepted the withdrawal of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers after weeks of opposition from both liberals and conservatives, who questioned her qualifications and record. In her withdrawal letter to the president, Miers said she was "concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and its staff and it is not in the best interest of the country. " In a statement, Bush said he "reluctantly accepted" her withdrawal. The White House said Miers had to withdraw over concerns that senators wanted documents of privileged discussions between the president and his top lawyer.

Following are brief statements Thursday in reaction to the withdrawal of Harriet Miers as President Bush's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court:"The president did the right thing in withdrawing her and saving her from further embarrassment. I now hope he'll deliver on his campaign commitment to pick a judge in the mold of Thomas and Scalia. " -- Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the Eagle Forum "Miers' withdrawal is a warning to all Americans that extremist groups are setting President Bush's national agenda.

When ambitious members of the president's own party score points against him, it's a sign the president may be becoming a lame duck. It's also the Play of the Week. Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, a leading conservative, may run for president in 2008. You'd think a potential Republican contender would support president Bush down the line. Think again. Brownback did not exactly rush to support Harriet Miers, Bush's pick for the Supreme Court. "We don't know the nominee, or what this person will or won't do. And there's a great deal of frustration with that," he said.

As the White House renewed its attempts to rally backing for Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, her views -- or non-views -- on a key privacy case appeared to ignite more controversy. Miers spent much of Monday on Capitol Hill visiting with senators, among them Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter. After their meeting, Specter told reporters that Miers said she believed the 1965 case of Griswold v. Connecticut -- a landmark ruling establishing the right to privacy -- was "rightly decided.

Two questions were asked in conservative circles Monday when it was learned President Bush had nominated his lawyer, Harriet Miers, for the Supreme Court. Question No. 1: "Is this what we fought for?" Question No. 2: "What was he thinking?" The conservative Republican base had tolerated George W. Bush's leftward lunges on education spending and prescription drug subsidies to re-elect him so that he could fill the Supreme Court with conservatives and send it rightward. But the White House counsel hardly looked like what they had expected.

President Bush said Tuesday he has never discussed abortion with White House counsel Harriet Miers, his nominee to fill the Supreme Court seat of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. "Not to my recollection have I ever sat down with her [to discuss abortion]," Bush said in his first solo press conference since May. "What I have done is understand the type of person she is and the type of judge she will be. " The president said he has never discussed abortion during any his interviews with his judicial nominees, including Miers.

David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, is a cautionary tale for young Hispanics who think the road to political power leads through the Republican Party. If so, it's a road with a lot of potholes. Iglesias went from the GOP's golden boy to its whipping boy -- all during one administration. When the former Navy lawyer was appointed by President George W. Bush, Iglesias was thought to be a symbol of Republican inclusiveness and someone who might help lure Hispanic voters to the party.

Americans surveyed in a national poll Thursday expressed mixed feelings about White House counsel Harriet Miers' withdrawal as a nominee for the Supreme Court. According to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll conducted after the White House announced Miers' withdrawal, 42 percent of respondents said they were "pleased" with her decision and 35 percent said they were "disappointed. " The remaining 23 percent said they were unsure. The poll of 512 adult Americans interviewed by telephone had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

President Bush is expected Monday to name his nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, who is retiring from the U.S. Supreme Court, senior administration officials told CNN Sunday. The announcement would be Bush's third choice to replace O'Connor. His first, Judge John Roberts, was later nominated and confirmed to replace the late William Rehnquist as chief justice of the United States. The second nominee, Texas lawyer and White House counsel Harriet Miers, withdrew from the process Thursday after conservatives questioned her credentials.

President Bush on Thursday accepted the withdrawal of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers after weeks of opposition from both liberals and conservatives, who questioned her qualifications and record. In her withdrawal letter to the president, Miers said she was "concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and its staff and it is not in the best interest of the country. " In a statement, Bush said he "reluctantly accepted" her withdrawal. The White House said Miers had to withdraw over concerns that senators wanted documents of privileged discussions between the president and his top lawyer.

Following are brief statements Thursday in reaction to the withdrawal of Harriet Miers as President Bush's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court:"I look forward with anticipation to the president naming the next nominee quickly. " -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee (Watch Sen. Frist react to Miers' withdrawal -- 2:07)"Apparently, Ms. Miers did not satisfy those who want to pack the Supreme Court with rigid ideologues. In choosing a replacement for Ms. Miers, President Bush should not reward the bad behavior of his right-wing base.

October 28, 2005 Miers Withdraws - Hear some reasons why Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Week in Review - Take stock of recent headlines in our Week in Review. Tent School - Get a sense of how some students displaced by the South Asian earthquake are getting on with their academic lives. THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. SHANON COOK, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: You've made it to Friday, and we're glad you're spending part of it with CNN Student News!

Harriet Miers took her name out of consideration for the Supreme Court on Thursday amid a brewing showdown over White House documents. But some lawmakers and observers suggest that the impasse was simply the most graceful exit possible for a floundering nominee. Miers never served as a judge and her critics said her background as an attorney, a former head of the Texas State Bar Association and as a Dallas city council member provided few clues to her judicial philosophy. Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee had asked for documents she had worked on as the White House's top lawyer.

Posted: 1:55 p.m. ET From Terry Frieden, CNN America Bureau The Justice Department, which had been intimately involved in preparing the Miers documents for the Senate and preparing the nominee herself for the hearings, was clearly caught off guard by Miers' decision to withdraw. Administration lawyers from the Justice Department Office of Legal Policy had worked late into the night to complete the supplemental questionnaires for the Senate Judiciary Committee with no inkling Miers had decided to bow out, Justice officials said.