WASHINGTON — Governor Spitzer’s decision to withdraw his plan to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants has lifted a heavy political weight from the shoulders of New York Democrats, and yesterday many appeared glad to be rid of it.

Under fire from all sides for hedging on the issue, Senator Clinton seized the opportunity to declare that she would not permit licenses for illegal immigrants if she wins the presidency. She said she supported Mr. Spitzer’s decision to pull his proposal, but without passing judgment on his decision to offer it in the first place.

Senate Schumer also did not mince words. “That’s the right decision that he made,” he told reporters at the Capitol this morning after leaving a meeting in which Mr. Spitzer informed members of the state’s congressional delegation that he was abandoning his proposal.

Mr. Spitzer’s announcement came as the furor over his plan, which he first announced two months ago and revised in October, showed no signs of abating. Republicans had railed against it and many Democrats kept their distance, most notably Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, had stayed quiet amid the political uproar and left the impression yesterday that he had been cool to the idea all along. He said the news from Mr. Spitzer today was “very well received by the entire New York delegation.”
“This was not going to happen,” he said.

At a press conference after the meeting, Mr. Spitzer appeared calm and comfortable with his decision. He said that he continued to believe the driver license proposal was “principally the right thing to do” but he acknowledged the public was against him. Prolonging the battle in the face of such staunch opposition, he said, would be “counterproductive.”

“It does not take a stethoscope to hear the pulse of New Yorkers on this topic,” he said.