WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats succeeded in their three-month campaign to derail the president’s nomination of John Bolton, clearing the way for what insiders expect will be a recess appointment for the president’s choice to represent America at the United Nations.

Republicans failed to get the 60 votes necessary yesterday to cut off debate, falling short of the mark with a 54-38 vote and all but ending the possibility that Mr. Bolton will be confirmed on the Senate floor. Defecting to the Democratic side to block the up-or-down vote was Senator Voinovich, the Ohio Republican who nearly broke down in tears last month when he denounced Mr. Bolton on the floor of the Senate.

The White House has hinted that a recess appointment for Mr. Bolton, which would last until January 2007, is very much in play. Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Secretary of State Rice wouldn’t rule it out, saying, “We’ll see what happens this week.”

Yesterday, one of Mr. Bolton’s supporters, Senator Kyl, a Republican of Arizona, was blunter. “If we can’t get him confirmed, my guess is he’ll be appointed with a recess appointment,” he told Bloomberg News.

And at the White House yesterday, President Bush urged the Senate to grant his nominee a vote. “Well, put him in,” he said. “If they’re interested in reforming the United Nations, they ought to approve John Bolton.” White House press secretary Scott McClellan yesterday said, “It’s critical we get him in place.”

Democrats yesterday argued that nothing less than the Senate’s right to advise and consent was at stake in the battle over Mr. Bolton. “This vote is about taking a stand,” said Senator Biden, a Democrat of Delaware. “This is about whether the United States Senate will be a co-equal branch of government.” Over the weekend, Mr. Biden said he was exploring a run for the presidency in 2008.

Republicans attacked the move by Senate Democrats. “Today’s vote was another setback for all who believe that nominees deserve an up or down vote, and that the UN can be an effective instrument of change in the world,” Senate majority leader Frist of Tennessee said yesterday in a statement. “These votes against John Bolton were votes against cleaning up the U.N.”

Mr. Biden yesterday spoke with White House chief of staff Andrew Card in an attempt to work out a deal to obtain outstanding information requests on the Bolton nomination. Specifically, the Senate Democrats have demanded the names of American officials contained in 10 National Security Agency intercepts Mr. Bolton requested when he was undersecretary of state.

According to Mr. Biden, Mr. Card said the senators could not have the intercepts but could have notes used to prepare testimony Mr. Bolton was to give in 2003 regarding Syria’s weapons programs that was ultimately spiked by the intelligence community.

One Bush administration official with access to intelligence told The New York Sun yesterday that one of the concerns of the administration about handing over the names in the intercepts is that should the information be leaked, electronic surveillance methods would be compromised.

“The bottom line is that we don’t trust the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with this stuff,” the intelligence source said.

In March, the chairman of that committee, Senator Lugar, a Republican from Indiana, and Senator Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, disclosed the identity of Fulton Armstrong, a national intelligence officer who worked on Latin America. Democrats on the committee have alleged that Mr. Bolton tried to have Mr. Armstrong fired because he disagreed with the officer’s intelligence estimates.

The failure to confirm Mr. Bolton has angered some pro-Israel organizations that point to his work in President George H.W. Bush’s administration in repealing the U.N. General Assembly resolution equating Zionism with racism. A press release yesterday from the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs derided Mr. Bolton’s critics. “The ongoing effort by John Bolton’s Senate detractors to hold up his confirmation as UN ambassador is especially offensive to the Jewish community,” it said.

Senator Lieberman, a Connecticut Democrat who is usually an ally of the pro-Israel community, voted yesterday to block an up-or-down vote on Mr. Bolton.

A recess appointment is a very rare maneuver for a president. The Associated Press reported yesterday that the Senate historian has no record of a president appointing an American ambassador to the United Nations during a Congressional recess.