WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain are part of a bipartisan group of U.S. senators traveling to Iraq this weekend, officials said Friday.

Clinton, a New York Democrat, and McCain, an Arizona Republican, will make the trip with Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C..

The group will meet with military leaders, top Iraqi officials and local women leaders.

McCain and Clinton have often challenged the Pentagon's planning and management of the Iraq effort, particularly once major combat ended.

In December, McCain said he had "no confidence" in Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Clinton's office said she plans to spend time with troops from New York state, including members of the Army 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, and 42nd National Guard personnel, who have their stateside headquarters in Troy, according to her office.

New York's junior senator traveled to Iraq in 2003 with Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a former Army paratrooper. They spent Thanksgiving in Afghanistan with military personnel.

After the 2003 trip, Clinton called for the administration to delay its timetable on transferring power to Iraq until there was more stability on the ground - a suggestion the White House rejected. While serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Clinton has been a frequent critic of the administration's management of Iraq, saying the Bush administration was poorly prepared to win over the hearts and minds of Iraqis after major combat ended.

In the run-up to the war, Clinton voted to authorize military force, but has urged the United States to get greater support and assistance from the United Nations.

Iraq's electoral commission on Thursday certified the results of the country's Jan. 30 elections, giving a 140-seat majority in that country's new parliament to the clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance.

The next step will be a meeting of the new National Assembly, which will draft a new constitution.