House Republican leaders have been largely silent following Monday’s reports that President Trump Donald John TrumpHR McMaster says president's policy to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is 'unwise' Cast of 'Parks and Rec' reunite for virtual town hall to address Wisconsin voters Biden says Trump should step down over coronavirus response MORE shared highly sensitive intelligence with Russian officials, and Democrats have noticed.

House Democrats on Tuesday amped up pressure on GOP leaders to expand the investigation into Russia’s ties to the White House, arguing that Trump’s new disclosures to Moscow officials make the Republicans’ entrenched defense of the president increasingly untenable.

“This is outrageous,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said during a press briefing in the Capitol.

“Our election was hijacked, there’s no question about that … and we have to know if there was collusion. You can only know that by obtaining the facts,” she added.

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“What are the Republicans afraid of? Are they afraid of the truth? Why are they protecting President Trump, when he’s admitting that he’s firing somebody who’s investigating a Russia-Trump connection because he’s just tired of it?” she said, referencing FBI Director James Comey’s firing.

Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.) also accused Republicans of neglecting their constitutional responsibilities for the sake of protecting their GOP ally in the White House.

“Republicans swore an oath, not to Donald Trump, not to the Republican Party,” Hoyer said. “It is past time when Republican leaders need to stand up for their country and not for their party and president.”

First reported by The Washington Post Monday evening, Trump’s information sharing with the Russians has stirred a whirlwind on Capitol Hill, where the Democrats were already fuming over the president’s decision last week to fire Comey amid an FBI investigation into Trump-Russia connections.

Democratic critics have been joined by a growing number of rank-and-file Republicans calling for an expansion of the probe, either through an independent outside commission or the appointment of a special prosecutor. But GOP leaders in both chambers have largely defended the president, or remained silent, in the wake of the Post story.

Through a spokesman, Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanAt indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates Peterson faces fight of his career in deep-red Minnesota district MORE (R-Wis.) issued a brief statement Monday night emphasizing the importance of shielding sensitive intelligence but stopping short of questioning the president’s actions.

"We have no way to know what was said, but protecting our nation's secrets is paramount,” spokesman Doug Andres said in an email. “The speaker hopes for a full explanation of the facts from the administration."

Ryan’s office said Tuesday there are no updates to that message.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell focuses on confirming judicial nominees with COVID-19 talks stalled McConnell accuses Democrats of sowing division by 'downplaying progress' on election security Warren, Schumer introduce plan for next president to cancel ,000 in student debt MORE (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that the Republicans ”could do with a little less drama from the White House” — drama he said is impeding the GOP’s ambitious legislative agenda — but he’s rejected the notion of expanding the Russia probe beyond the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The House Intelligence Committee has its own probe into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and any potential collusion between Kremlin officials and members of the Trump campaign. But the Democrats say the congressional inquiries have become too politicized to be reliable.

“This has to end with an independent counsel or a special prosecutor. I don’t believe the Congress can do an effective job anymore,” Rep. Eliot Engel (N.Y.), senior Democratic on the Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters Tuesday.

“There’s just too much protection on the Republican side of the president.”

Pelosi said she has no expectations that Ryan and the Republicans will expand their investigation based on the Democrats’ entreaties. But she’s hoping the steady drip of developments in the Russia saga will produce a public outcry sufficient to force them to have a change of heart.

“They’re not going to do it because they think it’s the right thing to do,” Pelosi said. “They’re going to do it because of the public pressure.”