IMPEACH BUSH

Senate Republicans yesterday shot down a Democratic resolution of no confidence in embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, presaging a setback for the new majority's expanding investigation of the Justice Department.

Four of the six GOP members who have called for Gonzales's resignation backed cutting off debate on the no-confidence measure, a sight more common in the British Parliament than in the U.S. Congress. Democrats had hoped the vote would land a new blow in their high-stakes battle with the White House over last year's firing of nine U.S. attorneys and the politicization of the Justice Department.

The Democrats needed 60 votes for cloture, but the final vote was 53-38, with one member voting "present."

The Republican resistance to condemning Gonzales, whose evasive testimony before the Judiciary Committee frustrated many in the minority party, will be a lone bright spot for President Bush as he climbs the Hill today for the first time since Democrats took over. In a rare visit to Senate Republicans, Bush plans to focus on winning over GOP senators reluctant to revisit the immigration compromise that fell apart late Thursday night.

Before the Gonzales vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) put particular onus on 10 Republicans to make good on their past criticism of Gonzales with a public reprimand. In an e-mail to reporters, Reid's press office painted the GOP's choice as one between heeding its conscience and covering for Bush.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), John Sununu (R-N.H.), Chuck Hagel  (R-Neb.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the Judiciary panel's ranking member, joined every Democratic caucus member except Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) in backing the resolution. Sen. Ted Stevens (R- Alaska) voted present.

Specter has not formally urged Gonzales's ouster, although he had predicted that the no-confidence vote would push Gonzales to step  aside. Collins and Snowe have not made previous public calls for a leadership change at Justice, while Stevens' entanglement in a  federal investigation of corruption in Alaska state politics may have  helped move his vote.

The Democratic inquiry into hiring and management at Justice has uncovered evidence of multiple missteps, sparking the resignation of two senior Gonzales aides, former chief of staff Kyle Sampson and former counsel Monica Goodling. In light of Republican determination to portray the probe as largely a one-party effort, however, the greatest threat to Gonzales may lie in internal probes by the Justice Department's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) expressed the mood of many in his conference on the floor before the vote, when he called  the no-confidence language "meaningless" and criticized the  dedication of floor time to chastising Gonzales instead of finishing the immigration bill.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), one of Gonzales's strongest defenders on the Judiciary Committee, argued that the resolution's phrasing hurt the Democratic cause because it did not offer specific grounds for the resolution.

The anti-Gonzales language showed signs of life last week when Republicans, led by Sen. Tom Coburn (Okla.), began discussing an alternative resolution that would express no confidence in Congress's ability to cut spending or pass sought-after legislation.

But it would have been a highly unusual move if the no-confidence vote had succeeded. Congress last passed a no-confidence resolution in 1950, against then-Secretary of State Dean Acheson. Coburn was absent for yesterday's vote, along with five presidential candidates: Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Joseph Biden (D-Del.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).

Bush, famous for digging in his heels when controversial administration figures face congressional scrutiny, vowed yesterday to pay no attention to the vote.

"This process has been drug out [sic] a long time, which says to me it's political," Bush told reporters in Bulgaria. "And I'll make the determination if I think [Gonzales] is effective or not."

Meanwhile, Bush will continue his uphill lobbying battle on immigration today, when he is expected to target 14 Republicans in particular. Their votes would be enough to narrow the difference in the Senate, which fell 15 votes shy of ending debate on immigration legislation last week.

Last year, 22 Republicans, including then-Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), voted for the immigration bill. This year, only seven voted for cloture on a bill that many say has moved to the right since last year. Many lawmakers have questioned whether a weakened president can muster enough sway to bring more Republicans to support the sweeping measure.

Manu Raju contributed to this article.