Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe told the Senate that a 'vast majority' of FBI agents had a positive connection to sacked FBI Director James Comey – after the White House said President Trump fired Comey in part to head off a 'near-uprising.'

Asked at an oversight hearing whether it was accurate that rank-and-file members no longer backed Comey – as the White House claims – McCabe replied: 'No sir, that is not accurate.'

'I can tell you also that Director Comey enjoyed broad support within the FBI, and still does to this day. We are a large organization. We are 36,500 people across this country, across this globe,' he continued, responding to Democratic senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.

Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe prepares to testify during the Senate (Select) Intelligence Committee hearing on "World Wide Threats"Senate Select Intelligence Committee hearing

'We have a diversity of opinion about many things. But I can confidently tell you that the majority, the vast majority of FBI employees enjoyed a deep, positive connection to Director Comey,' said McCabe, who was elevated after Trump unceremoniously fired Comey just two days ago.

Amid the continued uproar over the firing, McCabe also sang Comey's praises on a personal basis, testifying in the place of his ousted ex-boss at the Senate Intelligence Committee.

'I worked very, very closely with Director Comey from the moment he started at the FBI. I was his executive assistant director of national security at that time. I worked for him running the Washington Field Office, and of course I served as deputy for the last year. I can tell you that I hold Director Comey in the absolute highest regard,' said McCabe.

He continued: 'I have the highest respect for his considerable abilities and his integrity. And it has been the greatest privilege and honor of my professional life to work with him.'

UNDER THE LIGHTS: McCabe vouched for sacked FBI DIrector James Comey just two days after his firing

'I have the highest respect for his considerable abilities and his integrity. And it has been the greatest privilege and honor of my professional life to work with him'

EARLY TO RISE: White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says there was a 'near uprising' among FBI agents – a characterization that the new acting FBI Director disputes

McCabe's comments came after the White House doubled down on its claim that bottom-up opposition from within the rank-and-file of the FBI was a factor in President Trump's decision to fire Comey.

After saying Wednesday that 'countless' agents lost confidence in Comey, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday morning there was a 'near uprising' among agents, speaking on 'CBS This Morning.'

Her comments are contradicted by various press accounts, which describe agents as stunned and 'grappling with angst' over the firings – and claims by a retired official that Comey enjoyed 'broad support' among fellow crime-fighters.

"Let's not forget there was a near uprising after Comey from members of the FBI,' said Sanders on CBS This Morning.

'This isn't just about the president losing confidence. The rank-and-file members within the FBI had lost confidence in the director," said Sanders, who is filling in for press secretary Sean Spicer, who is on Navy reserve duty this week.

Current and former FBI officials are offering their own accounts of the feelings of FBI agents, after White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said 'countless' agents were disenchanted with FBI Director Comey

'The vast majority of FBI employees enjoyed a deep, positive connection to Director Comey,' said McCabe

Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday that 'countless' agents had lost confidence in FBI Director Comey

She said Wednesday that 'countless' agents had lost confidence in him, describing this as part of President Trump's thinking when he fired him.

She raised the issue as a number of congressional Democrats claimed Trump made the decision in order to squelch the FBI's probe of alleged Russian interference in the presidential election, rather than as a way to boost bureau morale.

'It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the president decision to remove Director Comey is related to this investigation. And that is truly unacceptable,' said Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, speaking at an open hearing Thursday.

Sanders said she was "not aware of" reports Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had threatened to quit after being cast as the driving force behind Comey's firing.