WASHINGTON — Just days after a bipartisan group of senators agreed to defuse a standoff over judicial confirmations, Sen. Bill Frist, the majority leader, found a new tool for interpreting their compromise: a Magic 8-Ball, the fortune-telling toy.

Mocking the agreement's provision that Democrats can block judicial nominees in "extraordinary circumstances," Frist suggested in a dinner speech Wednesday that the Democratic leaders might gather around a Magic 8 Ball to decide how the phrase applied to each judicial nominee.

"Will Brett Kavanaugh get an up-or-down vote? The Magic 8 Ball says, 'Don't count on it,' " Frist said, pulling out the toy in a speech to the conservative group GOPAC. "Will William Myers get an up-or-down vote? The Magic 8 Ball says, 'Better not tell you.' "

As senators headed home for a Memorial Day recess, the delicate compromise was under mounting pressure from Republican leaders and conservative groups who want to disarm completely the power of the Democratic minority to block votes on judicial nominees.

With the possibility of a Supreme Court vacancy when the court finishes its term at the end of next month, some conservative groups and members of the Republican caucus are pressing Frist to revive the fight over the confirmation rules as soon as he can by moving ahead with a vote on Myers.

Social conservatives, meanwhile, have directed special outrage at Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Mike DeWine of Ohio, the two Republicans from relatively conservative states who provided the last votes needed to make the compromise come together. Both had agreed to vote for Frist's proposal to end judicial blockades by changing Senate rules, but last Monday they joined five other senators from the 55-member Republican majority in the compromise, denying Frist the 50 votes needed to change the confirmation rules.

"It makes no sense for them to be involved here," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, a Christian conservative group.

For Frist, a potential presidential candidate who is courting conservative voters, the battle over judicial confirmations has become a test of his credibility with the party's social-conservative base. And for many conservatives, that means breaking the compromise.

"This is a direct challenge to Bill Frist," Pat Buchanan, the former Republican presidential candidate, wrote in a column. If Frist and the Republican leadership accept the compromise, Buchanan wrote, "they will invite the contempt of the people who sent them here with a conservative mandate." After the compromise was reached, some Republican senators made no effort to hide their disappointment and impatience.

"I wanted to move earlier to settle this matter, and obviously it is still not settled," Sen. George Allen, R-Va., said Thursday. Allen, considered a potential rival of Frist for the 2008 Republican nomination and a challenger for the conservative voter base, said he was urging the majority leader to bring up Myers' nomination immediately after the recess to test the compromise language.

"Get to William Myers and see what that means," Allen said. "Let's see what 'extraordinary circumstances' means." Allen noted that Myers was a nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco, a relatively liberal court that is a favorite target of conservatives, especially since it ruled against the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, Myers' home state, said he thought Frist would begin moving toward a vote on Myers "as soon as we get back from recess."

"Is he 'extraordinary'? No," Craig said. He said that all the Republicans involved in the compromise had assured him that Myers' nomination would come up for a vote, without a Democratic blockade. "We will find out how committed the agreement is," he said.

Democrats and liberal groups, however, have steadfastly opposed the confirmation of Myers, whom Bush named solicitor of the Department of the Interior. Their main complaint is that he previously worked as a lobbyist for mining and cattle industries that are often parties to disputes over environmental regulations before the 9th Circuit.

Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader, said he expected Democrats to block Myers. "It was done before and he wasn't part of the deal," Reid said.

Frist warned that if the Democrats once again filibustered judges, Republicans "will not hesitate" to change the rules to stop them. If both sides follow through, by the end of next month, the Senate could be back at the brink of confrontation.

majority leader