WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of 14 senators yesterday averted a historic and potentially debilitating Senate showdown over judicial nominations by agreeing to retain Senate rules that give extra power to the political minority.

The deal, struck in the offices of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., permits votes on three of President Bush's nominees to federal circuit courts of appeal that Democrats have blocked, including Priscilla Owen of Texas. Democrats had already agreed to grant votes on two other blocked judges. The deal also retains the use of the filibuster against judicial nominees — a delaying tactic that requires 60 out of 100 votes in the Senate to overcome, and that Democrats have used to prevent votes on 10 of Bush's nominees for appellate courts.

The seven Democratic negotiators agreed that they would use the filibuster only in "extraordinary circumstances." In exchange, the seven Republicans said they would vote against efforts this year or next to do away with the filibuster altogether on judicial nominations.

By having seven Republicans and seven Democrats, the deal assured that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., wouldn't have enough votes to change the filibuster rule and that Democrats wouldn't have enough votes on their side to continue to block most of the judges. There are 55 Republicans, 44 Democrats and one independent in the Senate.

The extraordinary bargain thwarted a partisan confrontation that could have significantly altered how the Senate governs itself, strengthened Bush's ability to put a conservative stamp on the federal judiciary and shifted the government's balance of power more in favor of the White House.

"We have reached an agreement to try to avert a crisis in the United States Senate and pull the institution back from a precipice that would have had, in the view of all 14 of us, lasting impact, damaging impact on our institution," McCain said.

The deal was a defeat for Bush, who had demanded straight up-or-down votes on all his nominees. It also was a blow to religious conservatives, who have advocated for more socially conservative judges and who put considerable pressure on Frist and Senate Republicans to change the filibuster rule.

In addition to Owen, the seven Democrats said, they would allow final confirmation votes on Janice Rogers Brown, who has been nominated to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and William Pryor to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The agreement does not protect two other contested nominees, William Myers and Henry Saad, who will be filibustered or withdrawn, negotiators said.

The agreement said future judicial nominees should "only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances," with each senator holding the discretion to decide when those conditions had been met.

"In light of the spirit and continuing commitments made in this agreement," Republicans joined Democrats in pledging to oppose any attempt to change the application of filibuster rules — a commitment that Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, said at the news conference was conditional on Democrats upholding their end of the deal.

Frist, who initiated the move to alter the Senate rules, said he was pleased that some judges would get up-or-down votes but disappointed that the question of the judicial filibuster hadn't been settled once and for all.

"It has some good news and it has some disappointing news, and it will require careful monitoring," he said.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada praised the agreement as a "victory for democracy."

"Abuse of power will not be tolerated, and attempts to trample the Constitution and grab absolute control are over. We are a separate and equal branch of government. That is our Founding Fathers' vision, and one we hold dear."

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said: "Many of these nominees have waited for quite some time to have an up-or-down vote and now they are going to get one. That's progress. We will continue working to push for up-or-down votes for all the nominees."

Leaders of both parties said the pact's greatest implications will surface when Bush fills a Supreme Court vacancy, which many expect this summer. Democrats were eager to retain filibuster powers in hopes of dissuading Bush from nominating a staunch conservative.

The negotiators said they hoped the agreement would serve as a wake-up call to the White House to consult more closely with the Senate on judiciary candidates, before fights erupt on the Senate floor.

Depending on how conservative groups digest the news over the next few days, one of the biggest losers in the deal could be Frist, who is weighing a presidential run in 2008. He has always insisted on up-or-down votes on judicial nominees. Amassing the support needed to win a vote on banning judicial filibusters was considered a major test of his leadership skills and his adeptness at promoting social-conservative causes.

The agreement was forged by an unusual coalition of centrists, iconoclasts and Senate institutions. The negotiations were led by McCain, a Republican maverick known for bucking Bush and his GOP leaders, and Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who over the past four years has been the Democrat most likely to vote with Republicans. The group also included two of the most venerable voices of the Senate: Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., and Sen. John Warner, R-Va.

Two of the Republican participants, DeWine and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said they had been prepared to vote to change the filibuster today had a deal failed.

"Here's what I know is going to happen next: People at home are going to be very upset at me for a while," said Graham, a McCain ally who occasionally parts ways with other Republicans.

The Senate debated all day yesterday and into the night over Bush's judicial nominations in anticipation of the looming vote. Custodians rolled cots into the Capitol in preparation for an all-night session that would lead to the showdown.

That vote now will not occur. Instead, the Senate is expected to vote today to end debate on Owen, a Texas Supreme Court justice whose nomination to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had been blocked by Democrats for four years.

That will defuse Frist's threat to alter the rules, a gambit that senators called a "nuclear option" because had it come about, Democrats would have retaliated by slowing the Senate's work to a crawl and ending the civility that's essential for the chamber to do its business.

Compiled from reports by Knight Ridder Newspapers, The Associated Press and The Washington Post.