Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker will consult with Justice Department ethics officials about 'matters that may warrant recusal' amid pressure from Democrats to step aside from overseeing the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Whitaker is 'fully committed to following all appropriate processes and procedures,' including consulting with senior ethics officials about his 'oversight responsibilities and matter that may warrant recusal,' Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement Monday.

Since his appointment last week, Whitaker has faced mounting pressure to step aside from overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, due to critical comments Whitaker made about the investigation before joining the Justice Department last year.

In an interview with CNN in July 2017, Whitaker suggested the Mueller probe could be starved of its resources by cutting the budget 'so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt.'

Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker will consult with ethics officials about overseeing the Mueller investigation. Whitaker is seen (left) next to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (right) in Arlington, Virginia on Monday

He also penned an op-ed last year that said Mueller would be straying outside his mandate if he investigated Trump family finances.

In an interview with a talk-radio host, Whitaker maintained there was no evidence of collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.

Whitaker, a Republican Party loyalist and chief of staff to just-ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions, was elevated last week after Trump forced Sessions out.

Mueller's investigation had been overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein until Sessions' ouster.

The Senate's top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, called for Whitaker to step aside from overseeing Mueller's investigation and said Democrats would he would seek to tie a measure protecting Mueller to must-pass legislation if Whitaker did not recuse himself.

Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats sent a letter Sunday to Lee Lofthus, an assistant attorney general and the department's chief ethics officer, asking whether he had advised Whitaker to recuse himself.

Whitaker is also telling associates he won't use his new power to starve the Russia probe of funds – although he mentioned the budget choking strategy last year.

Now Whitaker, having obtained that very post, is saying he won't use the tactic.

He is telling associates he won't slash the funding and will allow the Mueller probe to go forward, Bloomberg News reported.

The probe ran up a $16million tab during its first year of operation, and had spent an additional $10million through the end of March, according to its public filings.

Mueller's team has recently assigned staff to other projects, leading to speculation he could be bringing the investigation toward a conclusion.

President Trump has repeatedly demanded what he calls a 'witch hunt' be ended.

Whitaker, too, has applied that term to the investigation.

He wrote in an op-ed for CNN in 2017: 'Mueller has come up to a red line in the Russia 2016 election-meddling investigation that he is dangerously close to crossing,' he wrote.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly slammed the Mueller probe as a 'witch hunt' and railed against former attorney general Jeff Sessions for recusing himself of oversight of the inquiry

Whitaker, a GOP loyalist and chief of staff to just-ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions, was elevated last week after Trump forced Sessions out. Robert Mueller's (above) investigation had been overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein until Sessions' ouster

'If he were to continue to investigate the [Trump family's] financial relationships without a broadened scope in his appointment, then this would raise serious concerns that the special counsel's investigation was a mere witch hunt.'

Since Trump tapped him, Democrats have threatened to investigate Whitaker and closely monitor his conduct.

'Our very first witness on after January 3, we will subpoena, or we will summon — if necessary, subpoena, Mr. Whitaker,' incoming House Judiciary chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler told CNN 'State of the Union' on Sunday.