Congressional Democrats heading into the critical stretch of the lame-duck session increasingly say they will tie their support for a high-priority spending bill to a measure protecting special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian electoral interference.

That sets up a potentially contentious several weeks as Democrats continue to pressure Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to recuse himself from the Mueller inquiry. Whitaker, who was publicly critical of the investigation before coming to the Justice Department, has so far signaled he will not step aside.