The Hill - GOP Effort to Oust Eric Holder Picks Up Steam

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By Bob Cusack

The House Republican effort to oust Attorney General Eric Holder has attracted a significant amount of momentum this month.

Since the beginning of June, 66 Republicans have signed on to Rep. Paul Gosar's (R-Ariz.) legislation that calls for Holder's immediate resignation. Gosar's resolution now has 122 co-sponsors, more than half of the House GOP conference.

In an interview with The Hill, Gosar attributed the burgeoning support to the Department of Justice's controversial snooping on The Associated Press and Fox News.

"Americans have lost faith in our chief law enforcement officer. He's contradicted himself in front of Congress," said Gosar, who launched the resolution in the wake of the Justice Department's botched "Fast and Furious" gun-tracking operation.

One of the recent co-sponsors is Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), who heads the Judiciary subcommittee that the measure was referred to.

It remains unclear whether Sensenbrenner will move the motion and if GOP leaders will bring it to the floor.

Gosar said he is focused on getting as many co-sponsors as he can.

Not one Democrat has backed the legislation, but Gosar is optimistic that will change. He said he has been reaching out to Democrats who voted to hold the attorney general in contempt of Congress last year. The contempt motion passed 255-67, with the support of 17 Democrats.

Even if the House passes the Gosar measure, it is unlikely to move in the Democratic-led Senate. President Obama, meanwhile, has publicly defended his attorney general, saying last month that he has "complete confidence in Eric Holder."

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