Sen. John Sununu became the first Republican in Congress to say Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should be fired.

"We need a strong, credible attorney general," Sununu said in a telephone interview from Washington. "I don't believe Alberto Gonzales can fill that role.

"I think the President should fire the attorney general."

But New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., disagreed.

"I don't believe the attorney general should resign over this," Gregg told The Associated Press. "I don't believe his ability to pursue the terrorist threat has been compromised to the extent that he should resign."

The President yesterday said he was troubled by misleading statements from the Justice Department regarding the recent firing of eight U.S. attorneys, but he resisted calls for Gonzales' firing.

"What Al did and what the Justice Department did was appropriate," Bush said at a news conference in Mexico. What was "mishandled," Bush said, was the Justice Department's release of some but not all details of how the firings were carried out.

Sununu said the problem with Gonzales heading up Justice goes much deeper than recent revelations.

"I believe very strongly in the coming two years the country and Congress have to address very important questions regarding the threat of terrorism at home and abroad," said Sununu.

"Over the last 18 months, I think the attorney general has lost the confidence of most Democrats and Republican members of Congress," he said.

Although he's the first Republican senator to formally break ranks on the issue, Sununu said he's not venturing out on a political limb.

"There are a lot of Republicans who have already made it very clear publicly that they have little or no confidence in the attorney general, and there's probably twice as many who would make that statement privately," said Sununu.

►Gonzales fends off demands to resign
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Add Democrats' voices to that chorus, he said, and it leaves "very few" people in Washington still supporting the attorney general.

Sununu has broken party ranks and squared off with Gonzales before.

During sometimes contentious debate over reauthorization of the Patriot Act last year, Sununu joined a group of senators that successfully held out for legal rights and attorney-client provisions.

Yesterday, Sununu said Gonzales unnecessarily turned the Patriot Act reauthorization into a contentious debate by refusing to address bipartisan concerns and offering hollow assurances that the legal rights of individuals were being fully protected.

"Those assurances were completely mischaracterized," said Sununu.

"It's a pattern that displays weak leadership, poor leadership skills and an ineffective relationship with members of Congress."

While Bush continues to offer Gonzales support, Sununu said he's supporting the President by breaking ranks.

"When you're looking at a Cabinet secretary you ask two questions," said Sununu. "Are they effective in their job, and are they serving the President and the country well?"

Sununu said the answer to both questions in regards to Gonzales is "no."

When a member of the Cabinet is weakened, he said, the President is weakened.

"I'm concerned about the President's ability to provide effective leadership in dealing with Justice Department issues and prosecution of the war on terrorism," said Sununu.

The President was in Mexico as part of his week-long trip to Latin America, but Sununu said he spoke with White House staffers yesterday as a courtesy. He said he also advised Gregg, New Hampshire's senior senator, of his position on Gonzales.

Sununu said he agrees with Bush that federal prosecutors serve at the President's pleasure and that the firings themselves were not cause for concern. Sununu said the decision to fire the prosecutors, however, seems to have been made by the wrong people within the Justice Department and that statements to justify the move have shifted several times.

"It shows a lack of leadership, a lack of supervision and a lack of discipline," said Sununu. "The succession of issues (at Justice) has resulted in a continuing erosion of credibility and confidence, and therefore, a loss of effectiveness."