Time appears to be against U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay in his fight to exonerate himself of money laundering charges before he is permanently replaced as House majority leader.

In an attempt to meet a late January deadline for DeLay to regain his position, DeLay’s attorneys asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to compel a lower court to give the congressman a speedy trial. Since the state’s response to the request was filed today, the court could agree to consider the issue as early as Wednesday, but would not make a decision for another two weeks.