Conservative Dem says Holder should think of quitting

(CNN) – Ongoing questions into Attorney General Eric Holder's handling of leak probes – and now his role in government phone surveillance – should lead him to at least consider resigning, Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said Friday.

Manchin, a conservative Democrat often at odds with President Barack Obama's administration, said any government official who seems to be losing authority should make the same calculation.

"Whenever you feel that you have lost your effectiveness or may be losing your effectiveness to the detriment of the job that you do, you have to evaluate that and make a decision. And I think we're at the time now where decisions have to be made," Manchin said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Holder has come under fire from some Republicans, who say his Justice Department has been overly aggressive in its investigations of national security leaks. House Republicans have suggested Holder lied under oath during a hearing into government seizure of journalists' phone records last month.

The White House has consistently said Obama remains fully confident in Holder's ability to carry out his job, and earlier this week the attorney general told NBC News he has no intention of stepping down.

"There's some things that I want to do, some things I want to get done. I've discussed that with the president. And once I have finished that, I'll sit down with him and we'll determine when it's time to make a transition to a new attorney general," Holder said.

But on Friday, Manchin said that discussion should happen sooner rather than later.

"I just think that basically, in light of what is going on in the country, and everybody looking at it, it might be the most well intended person with the best of intentions, but if they're not being effective and they're not being received, how effective is it and how good is it for the – for the country?"

CNN's Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.