But then last week former Deputy Atty. Gen. James B. Comey testified before a Senate panel that Gonzales, when he was White House counsel in 2004, tried to push through a secret national security order over the objections of the Justice Department, which believed it was illegal. Comey's testimony led to the call for a no-confidence vote.
On Sunday, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said he believed Gonzales would resign even before the Senate goes on record with its vote. "I have a sense that before the vote is taken, that Atty. Gen. Gonzales may step down," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).
Gonzales' tenure as attorney general will draw more scrutiny this week when his former White House liaison, Monica Goodling, testifies on Capitol Hill on Wednesday about her role in the firings.
Senate Democrats indicated they would press ahead with the no-confidence vote, but said the immigration debate could delay the vote until after the Memorial Day recess.
"The president should understand that, while he has confidence in Atty. Gen. Gonzales, very few others do," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday. "Congress has a right -- and even an obligation -- to express its views when things are this serious."
On Monday, Reps. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) and Artur Davis (D-Ala.), both former federal prosecutors, introduced a House resolution of no confidence in Gonzales. A vote will probably not occur until early June. Schiff, who was an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles for six years, said he thought the resolution would pass.
The delay, he said, should "give the attorney general a chance to step down on his own. Artur Davis and I brought this resolution reluctantly. We are heartsick about what has happened in the department under Gonzales."
james.gerstenzang@latimes.com
Times staff writer Tom Hamburger contributed to this report.
