The Democratic-led U.S. Senate planned to hold a "no confidence" vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Monday, defying warning by President George W. Bush that the vote was "meaningless."

The Senate was scheduled to vote on a one-sentence non-binding resolution that said: "It is the sense of the Senate that Attorney General Gonzales no longer holds the confidence of the Senate and of the American people."

But it appeared so far that Democrats were unlikely to get the 60 votes necessary to move the measure for a final vote, despite many Republican senators have said they were unsatisfied with Gonzales's performance, particularly with his handling of the firings of eight federal attorneys last year.

Bush, however, renewed his confidence in Gonzales on Monday. "They can try to have their votes of no confidence, but it's not going to determine who serves in my government," Bush said in Bulgaria after a tour of Europe.

Eight federal attorneys were fired last years, with seven of them dismissed in December after the mid-term elections. While administration officials said the attorneys were ousted over concern about their performance, lawmakers suspected that they were targeted because they had not carried out the political agenda of the Republican Party, particularly before the elections.

Congress has been investigating the firings, and legislators from both parties have asked Gonzales to resign.