Alberto Gonzales
Republicans Block Senate Vote on AG
Posted Jun 11, 2007, 06:46 pm CST
By Martha Neil
After much media hoopla, a planned Senate vote of no confidence in U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was blocked by Republicans today.
Democrats were unable to muster the 60 votes needed to move past a procedural hurdle, reports Reuters.
The non-binding vote would have had no legal force, even if it had been held and passed, and Republicans denounced it as a meaningless political stunt, reports the Washington Post.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said he would have voted for the resolution, even though it was politically motivated, the Post article continues. "My own sense is that there is no confidence in the attorney general on this side of the aisle," he said before the vote was tabled, noting, however, that most Republicans weren't likely to support a resolution saying so.