Democratic leaders hoping to mollify restive liberals through aggressive oversight of the Trump administration are facing early warning signs from the pro-impeachment crowd that it’s simply not enough.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiHoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at Supreme Court McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE (D-Calif.) has signed off on a strategy for the House to hold Attorney General William Barr Bill BarrHarris faces pivotal moment with Supreme Court battle Hillicon Valley: DOJ proposes tech liability shield reform to Congress | Treasury sanctions individuals, groups tied to Russian malign influence activities | House Republican introduces bill to set standards for self-driving cars McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE and others in contempt of Congress. And House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-N.Y.) will hold a series of hearings this month to examine the Mueller report.

But while impeachment supporters are cheering those steps, they are also wary of taking their eyes off of what they see as the ultimate goal: ousting a president whom they deem unfit to be in office.

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Contempt “doesn’t move me one way or the other — it’s impeachment that I’m worried about because it’s the president who’s causing harm to the entire country,” said Rep. Al Green Alexander (Al) N. GreenThe Memo: Trump's race tactics fall flat Trump administration ending support for 7 Texas testing sites as coronavirus cases spike The Hill's Coronavirus Report: Miami mayor worries about suicide and domestic violence rise; Trump-governor debate intensifies MORE (D-Texas), the most vocal impeachment advocate in the House.

“I don’t think that history will be kind to us if this is an alternative,” he added. “We’re at a crossroads — the crossroads of accountability. Either we will hold the president accountable, or we’re going to be held accountable. And other measures are fine, as long as they’re not being done in lieu of holding the president accountable.”

Fellow impeachment supporters are sounding a similar alarm. Asked if contempt goes far enough to hold the president to account, House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters Maxine Moore WatersPowell, Mnuchin stress limits of current emergency lending programs Pelosi: House will stay in session until agreement is reached on coronavirus relief Omar invokes father's death from coronavirus in reaction to Woodward book MORE (D-Calif.) rattled off a string of at least a half-dozen “noes” on Monday.

Others piled on the following day.

“Contempt to me is an important step, but it’s not the last step. It’s the first one. I’ve been ready for an impeachment inquiry since the beginning of last month right after I read the Mueller report,” Rep. Veronica Escobar Veronica EscobarHispanic caucus report takes stock of accomplishments with eye toward 2021 Races heat up for House leadership posts Ahead of a coronavirus vaccine, Mexico's drug pricing to have far-reaching impacts on Americans MORE (D-Texas), a former county judge, told The Hill. “As a member of House Judiciary, I feel this administration is obstructing my ability to do my job by preventing witnesses from coming before us.”

The debate is intensifying as Pelosi and other top party leaders are fighting to keep the steady drip of impeachment advocates from becoming an uncontrollable wave.

Just a few months ago, the number of lawmakers on record supporting President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE’s ouster was in the single digits. That number jumped in March following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE’s report on Russia’s election interference. And it spiked again last week after Mueller made rare public remarks in which he explicitly declined to exonerate Trump of obstructing justice during the course of his 22-month investigation.

As of Tuesday, no fewer than 55 Democratic lawmakers were on record supporting impeachment.

“I did not come to Congress to impeach a president,” Rep. Val Demings Valdez (Val) Venita DemingsFlorida Democrat introduces bill to recognize Puerto Rico statehood referendum Sunday shows - Trump team defends coronavirus response Demings slams GOP coronavirus relief bill: Americans 'deserve more than the crumbs from the table' MORE (D-Fla.), who wants to launch an impeachment inquiry, said Tuesday. “But I did come to Congress to do my job, and we have an obligation to … protect the Constitution and uphold our democracy. And we are determined to do that.”

But few in the pro-impeachment camp are blasting leadership directly.

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At a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic Caucus on Tuesday morning in the Capitol, the issue was not broached even once, according to attendees. And while Green has threatened for months to force a floor vote on impeachment, like he did on two occasions in the previous Congress, he has not yet followed through.

“I don’t have any form of criticism in terms of what’s being promoted and projected, because ultimately we get to where we’re going,” said Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.), an impeachment supporter who, like Green and Demings, is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

“Much of what we do is process, and we’re on our way” to impeachment, he said. “Sometimes decisions are more evolutionary than revolutionary.”

Other influential progressives, like Rep. Jamie Raskin Jamin (Jamie) Ben RaskinOn The Money: House panel pulls Powell into partisan battles | New York considers hiking taxes on the rich | Treasury: Trump's payroll tax deferral won't hurt Social Security House panel pulls Powell into partisan battles over pandemic Shakespeare Theatre Company goes virtual for 'Will on the Hill...or Won't They?' MORE (D-Md.), have been pressing Pelosi privately and publicly to launch an impeachment inquiry. But Raskin, a Pelosi ally, is also giving the Speaker plenty of space to manage the debate as she sees fit.

“Pelosi is a political genius. She will figure out the right pathway for us,” Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, told The Hill on Tuesday.

He said there are other ways that Congress can hold Trump accountable through the checks and balances system: Raskin will soon introduce a resolution disapproving of the president personally profiting from his office, including from foreign dignitaries spending money at his hotel just blocks from the White House.

The founders “knew that foreign governments would have saboteurs and spies and investors crawling all over the president and the national government,” Raskin said during an earlier interview with The Hill. “They knew that and so they didn’t just say you can’t be bribed; they said you can’t collect any money, any payments, any emoluments from foreign princes, kings or governments.”

Raskin told The Hill he is drafting a resolution disapproving of Trump receiving emoluments from foreign governments.

Pelosi and her top lieutenants — Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton HoyerOVERNIGHT ENERGY: California seeks to sell only electric cars by 2035 | EPA threatens to close New York City office after Trump threats to 'anarchist' cities | House energy package sparks criticism from left and right House energy package sparks criticism from left and right Hoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal MORE (D-Md.) and Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) — have long sought to keep a lid on impeachment, citing the lack of public support as a primary concern. But they’re also quick to emphasize that their strategy of investigations, subpoenas, contempt citations and court battles in no way precludes the possibility that impeachment proceedings will follow — if the evidence emerges to take them there.

“Nobody’s afraid of this president,” Hoyer said Tuesday. “What you’re seeing the Speaker and I try to do — and other leaders as well — is try to do this in a very orderly, considered, thoughtful fashion. To ascertain the facts, and take whatever action those facts dictate.”

Complicating their search for the facts, however, has been a near-blanket administration policy — directed by Trump himself — discouraging agencies and officials from cooperating with Democrats’ investigations.

Judiciary Committee Democrats haven’t been able to secure Don McGahn’s testimony, but they will hear from another former White House counsel: John Dean, the star witness of the 1973 Watergate hearings.

“I guess we went to the next best thing, which is Richard Nixon’s White House counsel,” Raskin said Tuesday.

Rep. Steve Cohen Stephen (Steve) Ira CohenTennessee Rep. Steve Cohen wins Democratic primary Democrats exit briefing saying they fear elections under foreign threat Texas Democrat proposes legislation requiring masks in federal facilities MORE (D-Tenn.), a Judiciary Committee member who backs impeachment, suggested the Monday hearing with Dean will help the public draw comparisons to Nixon’s impeachment.

“I think it brings home the whole idea of the Watergate hearings and the Nixon presidency. And this Trump presidency is worse than the Nixon presidency,” Cohen said.

The number of House Democrats on the record in support of launching an impeachment inquiry remains at just under a quarter of the 235-member caucus. But advocates are convinced that more will get on board, noting that some swing-district Democrats began facing constituents clamoring for impeachment during last week’s congressional recess.

“There are other members who seem to be getting there,” Cohen said. “It’s hard not to get there.”