The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed Tuesday's highly-anticipated hearing for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, following Monday's deadly shootings at Virginia Tech University.
The committee's Democratic chair, Senator Patrick Leahy, said he expects committee members will be dealing with the shooting.
Gonzales is now scheduled to appear Thursday.
The attorney general is under scrutiny for his role in the firing of eight federal prosecutors last year.
Some lawmakers alleged the firings were politically motivated, and are investigating whether he misled Congress about the reasons for the dismissals.
Gonzales insists he did not act improperly. He says the prosecutors were fired as part of a management review designed to improve leadership in the Justice Department.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
