Rumsfeld Critics May Get Their Day on the Hill

April 24, 2006 — -- The six retired generals who have called for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation may soon get a chance to bring their complaints to Capitol Hill.

In response to a request from Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said he would ask his committee to vote on whether to hold a hearing with all six generals. The hearing would give critics of the embattled defense secretary a high-profile forum to air their grievances about his management of the Iraq war.

A vote in favor of holding such a hearing is a distinct possibility: All 11 Democrats on the committee can be expected to vote yes, which means it would take only two of the committee's 13 Republicans to make it happen. Two Republicans on the committee -- Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. -- have been among Rumsfeld's toughest critics. Neither has said how they will vote.

ABC News has learned that Rumsfeld will be on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning for a private meeting with senior Republican senators, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. It will be a chance for Rumsfeld to shore up his support among those he is counting on to defend his record.