GOP support for Gonzales continues to deteriorate

WASHINGTON — Republican support for Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales continued to evaporate Friday as the party's third-ranking leader in the House and an influential senator said Gonzales should consider resigning.

A day after failing to mollify members of the Senate Judiciary Committee over his handling of the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, Gonzales launched a last-ditch effort to save his job in phone calls to congressional leaders. But the tide of opinion on Capitol Hill appeared to be turning against him.

Rep. Adam H. Putnam (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Republican Conference, became the highest-ranking House Republican to call for Gonzales to step down, declaring Friday, "It's time for fresh leadership."

"There's been an erosion of confidence certainly in the Congress in his ability to continue to lead" the Justice Department, said Putnam.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), a Judiciary panel member, urged Gonzales to spend the weekend reflecting on his leadership, and then have a "frank" discussion with the White House.

"If he and the president decide that he cannot be an effective leader moving forward, then he should resign," Sessions said. "As he said during the hearing, 'It's not about Al Gonzales.' The bottom line is that he must do what is in the best interest of the Department of Justice."

The White House, meanwhile, continued to express support for the attorney general.

Sessions, a U.S. attorney for 12 years and a reliable administration ally, is considered a bellwether of Republican opinion. Like Putnam, he had been critical of Gonzales' handling of the firings, but had stopped short of calling for his dismissal.

Gonzales suffered through a withering attack on his credibility Thursday as he struggled to explain his role in the events leading up to the dismissal of eight Republican-appointed prosecutors last year.

He has been criticized for giving shifting explanations about the level of his involvement, and his appearance Thursday raised even more questions. He testified that he ordered the firing of two of the prosecutors without independent knowledge of any problems with their performance.

That has fueled Democratic charges that the firings were aimed at affecting public corruption prosecutions to benefit Republicans. But the hearings have not produced any evidence of that.

Gonzales received some votes of confidence on Friday, but they were muted.