WASHINGTON — Voicing displeasure over the administration’s handling of the core issues of prisoner abuse and the Iraq war, Senate Democrats today forced delays in the confirmation of Atty. Gen.-designate Alberto R. Gonzales and Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice.
White House officials had hoped that Rice would be confirmed and sworn in Thursday, in time for the president’s inauguration celebrations. But congressional Democrats, critical of Rice’s advocacy of the Iraq invasion and Gonzales’ answers on abuse and torture, postponed final votes until next week at the earliest, aides said.