Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger C. Altman, facing unrelenting congressional criticism after his testimony at recent Whitewater hearings, has met privately with Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen to discuss his resignation, administration sources said Friday night.

Bentsen has told Altman that the decision on whether to resign is his to make, the sources said, but they suggested that Altman's departure now seems all but certain. Administration officials said they doubt that Altman will quit over the weekend, however.Altman was the central administration witness in the Whitewater hearings before Senate and House panels and has been heavily criticised by both Republican and Democratic senators. He was quizzed at the hearings about allegations that he provided confidential information at a crucial time to the White House about the status of a Resolution Trust Corp. investigation of the failed Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan. The Arkan-sas thrift was owned by a business partner of President Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, when Clinton served as governor of Arkansas.

In the wake of the hearings, two leading Democrats on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which conducted the Senate hearings, have met privately with Bentsen and outgoing White House Counsel Lloyd N. Cutler to discuss Altman, sources said Friday.

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The lawmakers did not demand Altman's resignation, the sources said, but their discussions apparently sent a subtle message to the White House and Treasury that Altman should consider leaving.

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