Frist Joins Critics Opposing Port Deal as Bush Presses Forward

Feb. 21, 2006 — -- A very powerful and very Republican voice has joined those questioning the White House's acceptance of a plan by the Arab company Dubai Ports World to take over the operations at major East Coast shipping ports, including those in New York and Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, President Bush said today that he would veto any congressional efforts to stop the deal from going forward.

"After careful review by our government, I believe the transaction ought to go forward," Bush told reporters who had traveled with him on Air Force One to Washington. "I want those who are questioning it to step up and explain why all of a sudden a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard than a Great British company. I am trying to conduct foreign policy now by saying to the people of the world, 'We'll treat you fairly.'"

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist issued a statement earlier saying that the deal raised "serious questions regarding the safety and security of our homeland." He called for the deal, which is set to be finalized March 2, to be delayed and for a fuller and more transparent review of the deal to take place.

Following that statement was a thinly veiled threat to the White House: "If the administration cannot delay the process, I plan on introducing legislation to ensure that the deal is placed on hold until this decision gets a more thorough review."

It would not be the first bill put forward to stop the deal -- already three others have been announced. But Frist carries enormous clout among Republicans, and, as majority leader, he controls what comes to the Senate floor and when.

Frist, who is a likely contender among the large field of Republicans vying to replace Bush in 2008, rarely disagrees with the White House in public. He was meeting with immigration officials in Southern California today ahead of a push by Congress to amend immigration laws in the coming months.

Already, lawmakers as disparate as Georgia Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois have raised serious concerns about the deal. The deal would allow Dubai Ports World, which is owned by a royal family in the United Arab Emirates, to buy the British Company P&O Ports. Dubai Ports World operates ports in 18 countries.

But Rep. Peter King, who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, and fellow New Yorker, Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, announced they were co-sponsoring a bill that would be rushed through Congress to block the sale of the P&O Ports pending a more complete investigation. Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Robert Menendez of New Jersey had already offered a similar bill to block the sale.