Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison told SMU students Thursday she was disappointed that Harriet Miers withdrew her name as a U.S. Supreme Court nominee.

“I am furious. I am frustrated. I am disappointed,” she said.

Hutchison made remarks just minutes after she heard the news, as she greeted 21 SMU corporate communications and public affairs and journalism students outside her office.

Hutchison defended Miers’ record, even though opponents criticized her qualifications.

“She is a remarkable woman,” she said, noting that Miers was the first female president of the Dallas Bar Association, the first female President of the Texas Bar Association and the first woman to head a major Dallas law firm.

“She broke some many barriers, and people talked like she was mediocre,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchison said Miers probably withdrew because she felt it was inappropriate to release internal White House documents. Miers believes very much in the separation of powers and didn’t want to compromise that by having the documents released.

She did it “with the best intentions for the country,” Hutchison said.

The meeting with Hutchison was the first of a daylong schedule of government briefings. Students also met with legislative aides from the office of Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.; sat in on an Environmental Protection Agency press conference call; met with EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson; and met with Overseas Private Investment Corporation President and CEO Rob Mosbacher. The students also sat in the Senate Gallery during a speech by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

On Friday, students will be briefed by the White House Communications Office and will sit in on a State Department briefing.

Both students are currently attending “Hilltop on the Hill,” an extended weekend-long CCPA and journalism program in Washington, D.C. In total, 21 students advised by CCPA Chair Dr. Rita Kirk, CCPA professor Kathy LaTour and journalism professor Carolyn Barta are there.

Renie Malchow contributed to this report.