BY FRANK DAVIES

 WASHINGTON -- Senate Republican leaders Wednesday scheduled a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 3 to seek answers about the federal raid to seize Elian Gonzalez and the frantic, failed negotiations that preceded it.

 ``I don't believe that the American people approved of the kind of action they saw Saturday morning,'' said Sen. Trent Lott, the Republican leader. ``I think that they feel that was excessive.''

 Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican who chairs the committee, said top officials of the Justice Department and Immigration and Naturalization Service will be called to testify, and he would ``extend an invitation'' to Elians father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez, or his lawyer, Gregory Craig.

 Craig said Wednesday that he had not received a request to attend a hearing.

 Lott said that two of the Miami negotiators who sought to make a last-minute deal, attorney Aaron Podhurst and University of Miami President Edward T. Foote II, may also be asked to testify.

 Several Senate Democrats belittled the hearings and said they were not necessary.

 ``The Republicans appear to be far more comfortable investigating than legislating,'' said Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota. ``I think the people are tired of it.''

 Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said: ``We have a perfect right to ask questions, but lets not do it in such a way that its second-guessing what the American people knew had to be done -- that is, bring this little boy back to his father.''

 Another committee member, Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he would like the hearing to focus on the raid, its tactics, show of force and whether it was necessary.

 ``Congress has the duty and responsibility to make a determination as to when INS or any government agency will put into play circumstances which could lead to deadly force,'' Specter said in an interview on CBS.

 Specter, who investigated law enforcement actions at Waco and Ruby Ridge, said Elians father or Craig could answer a question that was raised at a meeting Tuesday with Reno and 13 senators.

 ``Id want to hear from the fathers attorney as to whether the father really understood the kind of risks that his son was being subjected to'' by the raid, Specter said.

 Hatch said: ``That kind of force undermines the very principles of our government and the very freedoms we enjoy. . . . What if the boy had been killed or hurt? What if a family member had been killed?''

 Public opinion polls conducted since the raid show that Americans overwhelmingly support the return of the boy to his father, but are divided on the force used during the operation. Two polls this week also showed public opinion running more than two-to-one against congressional hearings.

 In past crises involving Reno, from the handling of Waco evidence to possible spying at a nuclear weapons lab, some Republicans have called for her resignation. Despite plenty of criticism, that hasnt happened this time, which may reflect that the attorney general has about eight months left in office.

 Sen. Bob Graham, who has sharply criticized the raid and other Justice Department actions, said: ``Ive known Janet Reno 40 years. She should not resign. Shes an honorable person carrying out her responsibilities.''

 Asked at a Tuesday press conference whether Reno will be able to return to Miami when she leaves office, Graham responded: ``She can, she will and she will be welcomed.''

 Separately, the INS revealed the Border Patrol agents' view of the raid they conducted to seize Elian.

 One of the eight reported he ``had never encountered this much resistance,'' said INS spokeswoman Maria Cardona.

 ``The agents said the crowd around the house was extremely aggressive and hostile,'' Cardona said. ``The female agent, Betty Mills, was pushed to the ground on the way in.'' Several people formed a human chain at the door.

 The agents identified themselves and asked for cooperation, ``but they did not get it despite the family's promise to just open the door peacefully if we came to get Elian,'' Cardona said.

 The agent photographed holding an automatic weapon as he encountered a terrified Elian ``made a specific decision to keep the safety lock on because he feared he would encounter a physical struggle and didn't want the gun to go off accidentally,'' Cardona said.

 Jackie Koszczuk of The Herald's Washington Bureau and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald