(CNN) Former White House personnel security director Carl Kline took responsibility for a security clearance process criticized for overruling multiple recommended denials for senior government officials, according to members of Congress who privately interviewed Kline on Wednesday.

"He's basically trying to say that the buck pretty much stopped with him," said House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat. "There's much more information that we need to dig into."

Tricia Newbold, whom Democrats describe as a whistleblower , has accused Kline of approving security clearances for White House officials despite recommended denials, including for the President's son-in-law and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner. In 2018, Trump reportedly directed his then-chief of staff John Kelly to give Kushner a top-secret security clearance.

But Republicans said that Kline's testimony made clear that he was not improperly influenced and protected the national security of the country.

"He told us that he made every decision about security clearances," said Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio. "It wasn't the President. It wasn't the White House chief of staff."

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