Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he has discussed specific Supreme Court candidates with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. “We have discussed individual names among ourselves,” Frist said this morning after a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. Frist declined to name any names, saying, “It is not right for me to share who we talked about.”

Frist was asked whether, based on his conversations with Reid, he had advised President Bush on who might or might not be confirmable in the Senate. “No,” Frist said, “I think the president and the administration have reached and are reaching out to solicit names and ideas. I know that’s being done.” Asked specifically if that meant the White House is reaching out to Democrats, Frist said, “I would say they are reaching out to solicit names and types of people. I think…that consultative process, in a very quiet but direct way, is currently taking place.”