Back in the United States, the Bush administration has agreed to back down on a Democratic challenge to a provision in the USA PATRIOT Act that allows the U.S. attorney general to replace prosecutors without Senate confirmation. Democrats have vowed to repeal the provision following the controversy over the firings of eight U.S. attorneys. On Thursday, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee President Bush would not intervene if Congress passes a reversal. The announcement comes as the administration continues to take heavy criticism over its handling of the controversy. In a reference to Gonzales, Senator Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said: “One day there will be a new attorney general, maybe sooner rather than later.”