Democrats have been at loggerheads with the Bush administration for years over executive and judicial nominations.

But it appears that Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., is ready to play nice when considering President Bush’s latest round of nominees to fill a raft of vacancies in the upper echelons of the Justice Department.

Bush announced Nov. 15 his picks for deputy attorney general, associate attorney general and two assistant attorney general positions.

Leahy said Bush called him at home about his picks the same day. Leahy welcomed the nominations to the scandal-plagued Justice Department, saying, “I’m going to try to move as quickly as I can on them.”

The Senate vetting process might be faster, though, if Bush had adopted the traditional practice followed by his predecessors of consulting ahead of time with the Judiciary chairman. Leahy had sent Bush a letter on Nov. 14 urging consultation on new nominees.

Regardless, Leahy’s desire to keep filling the leadership void at Justice is likely to trump any lingering resentment he might feel about being frozen out by the White House.