WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Democrats are pressing their campaign to have White House political guru Karl Rove, under oath and under the glare of television lights, fielding questions before a congressional committee on the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors.

Subpoenas for Mr. Rove and other top White House aides were expected to be authorized Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. A House panel took similar action Wednesday, but held off issuing the subpoenas.

Facing a potential constitutional showdown, the White House showed no inclination to compromise, saying Mr. Bush would only allow his aides to hold limited private interviews with certain lawmakers, and not under oath.

Presidential spokesman Tony Snow said Wednesday that proposal, which he called Mr. Bush’s final offer, could be rescinded.

“If they issue subpoenas, yes, the offer is withdrawn,” Mr. Snow said. Democrats “will have rejected the offer.”

Even as both sides dug in publicly, prominent lawmakers worked behind the scenes to avert a court battle between the executive and legislative branches.

Senator Specter of Pennsylvania, the panel’s senior Republican, said he was considering backing Democrats’ move to authorize subpoenas, but was also working to cut a deal with the White House to avoid having to issue them.

Mr. Bush is standing by embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, even as Republicans and Democrats question his leadership. The president insists that the firings of the prosecutors over the past year were appropriate, while Democrats argue they were politically motivated.

The prosecutors are appointed to four-year terms by the president and serve at his pleasure. meaning they can dismissed at any time.

In offering up his aides to talk to the committees behind closed doors, Mr. Snow said Mr. Bush was seeking to avoid the “media spectacle” that would result from public hearings.

Democrats have rejected Mr. Bush’s offer – relayed to Capitol Hill on Tuesday by White House counsel Fred Fielding – in large part because there would be no transcript and the testimony would not be public.

Senator Reid, Democrat of Nevada, the majority leader, said it would be “outrageous,” to allow Mr. Rove to testify off the record.

“Anyone who would take that deal isn’t playing with a full deck,” Mr. Reid said.

Mr. Reid added that Mr. Gonzales “is history. He can’t survive.”

Representative Adam Putnam of Florida, the No. 3 House Republican, stopped short of calling for Mr. Gonzales’ ouster, but said the prosecutors flap and recent revelations about the FBI’s rampant misuse of its spying powers are threatening to distract him from his job.

Mr. Gonzales “has to evaluate how effectively he can continue to serve as our attorney general,” Mr. Putnam said. “He is standing in the middle of a tornado, largely of his own making.”

Senator Pryor, Democrat of Arkansas, meanwhile, said Mr. Gonzales had lied to him when he said he planned to seek confirmation for a prosecutor named to replace the fired federal prosecutor for Arkansas. Mr. Pryor already has asked for Mr. Gonzales’ resignation, as have three Republican lawmakers.

Mr. Gonzales has been on the defensive for his handling of the prosecutor firings and a shifting series of explanations that followed. In an apparent attempt to mend fences, he arranged a series of meetings in the coming days with groups of federal prosecutors around the country, beginning Thursday in St. Louis.

The House Judiciary subcommittee on commercial and administrative law agreed Wednesday to compel the top White House aides to testify.

“There must be accountability,” said subcommittee Chairwoman Linda Sanchez, Democrat of California.

The double-barreled House and Senate actions don’t guarantee an impasse, however.

With authorizations in hand, the Democratic chairmen of the Judiciary panels, Representative John Conyers, Democrat of Michigan and Senatpr Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, can issue subpoenas at any time, but they haven’t done so yet.

They also could continue to negotiate with the White House, with the threat of subpoenas as a bargaining chip.

Mr. Specter floated a proposal late Wednesday in which a limited number of House and Senate lawmakers would be allowed to hear from White House aides who were not under oath, and a transcript of the proceedings would be provided.

Mt. Specter said his “strong preference” was that the testimony be public. It was not clear whether other Republicans or any Democrat would back such an approach.

For his part, Mr. Bush has remained resolute.

He said Tuesday he would “absolutely” go to court to protect his aides against being called to Capitol Hill to testify under oath in public. Such testimony would set a harmful precedent on the separation of powers that would damage the institution of the presidency, Mr. Bush said.

If neither side blinks, the dispute could end up in court – ultimately the Supreme Court.

Mr. Bush also defended Gonzales against demands for his resignation. “I support the attorney general,” the president said.