Gonzales may quit, senator says

WASHINGTON — Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales might resign rather than face a potential no-confidence vote in the Senate.

Senate Democrats have said they would bring a no-confidence resolution to the floor as soon as this week because of questions about Gonzales' role in the dismissals of eight federal prosecutors last year and doubts about his leadership.

On "Face the Nation" on CBS, Specter noted that no-confidence votes in the Senate were rare, adding, "I have a sense that before the vote is taken, that Attorney General Gonzales may step down."

Specter said of Gonzales, "I think that if and when he sees that coming, that he would prefer to avoid that kind of an historical black mark." Specter, the senior senator from Pennsylvania, would not say how he would vote on such a resolution.

Most Senate Democrats and five Republicans have called on the attorney general to resign, but President Bush, who considers Gonzales one of his most trusted advisers, has steadily supported him.

Brian J. Roehrkasse, senior spokesman at the Justice Department, said on Sunday that Gonzales had no intention of resigning.