A run-of-the-mill confirmation hearing for four Trump nominees for mid-level economic government posts took a dramatic turn Tuesday when Senate Democrats asked them whether they were loyal to President Donald Trump or the American people.

“Who is your loyalty to,” asked Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat for North Dakota, getting to the essence of many of the questions asked earlier by her colleagues.

All four nominees: Sigal Mandelker, the nominees to be Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial crimes, Marshall Billingslea to be assistant secretary for terrorist financing, Heath Tarbert to be assistant secretary and Mira Radielovic, Commerce under secretary for export administration that they were loyal to some combination of the American people, the law and the Constitution.

Democrats pressed the nominees whether they would cooperate with Congress even if the White House was recalcitrant.

“Do you commit to alert the committee of any attempt by the White House to interfere with, to stall or to change responses from your department,” asked Sen. Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, the ranking Democrat on the Banking panel.

Mandelker said she would want to consult first with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

“I think you know from my question that I am not challenging or concerned with the ethics of the four of you, I am concerned with the ethics of others in the administration that you’ve all read widely about and frankly I think perhaps made some of you not so certain...you want to sign up for the administration,” Brown said.

Brown asked if it was appropriate for Trump officials to share intelligence given to us by an allied country if the other country had asked that it not be shared without approval. That’s allegedly what Trump did in sharing information with Russia.

Mandelker agreed that it was important to carefully handle sensitive information.

Sen. Mark Warner, who is the vice chairman of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, said he would hold up Mandelker’s nomination until Treasury provides his committee information relating to financial connections between Russia and Trump and his associates.