It didn't take long for a Senate committee hearing meant to provide insight into how three Justice Department nominees might run their respective divisions or handle conflicts of interest to shift to the sudden firing of FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday.

The Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Noel Francisco for solicitor general, Makan Delrahim to head the Antitrust Division and Steven Engel to oversee the Office of Legal Counsel, but committee Democrats used their time to address Comey's termination. President Donald Trump fired Comey on Tuesday night.

“As I reflect on the decision to dismiss Director Comey, I become incredulous thinking about the ongoing FBI investigation into Russia's interference with our presidential election, and possible connections to associates of the Trump campaign and administration,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, the committee's ranking member.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, said Comey's dismissal “smack in the middle” of the Russia investigation “raises serious questions.” She said the public “deserves to know” that Justice Department decisions are based on fact, “no matter who, and no matter what, they might lead to.”

No Republicans mentioned Comey outright during the hearing, except Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, who mentioned the nominees' strong resumes and joked that “there's an opening at FBI, if y'all are interested there.”

If confirmed, Francisco, Delrahim and Engel would oversee DOJ functions that require freedom from political leanings or personal opinion. In Engel's case at the Office of Legal Counsel, often referred to as “the president's law firm,” he'll be in charge of reviewing potential executive branch actions and whether they could run afoul of the law.

Once the hearing shifted back to the three nominees, Engel seemed to disagree with former acting Attorney General Sally Yates' assessment of the OLC's function, which she gave in a Senate hearing Monday on the Russia investigation. Asked why she refused to defend Trump's travel ban executive order even though the OLC said it was legal, Yates said the OLC's function is to “look at the face of an executive order and to determine purely on its face whether there is some set of circumstances under which at least some part of the executive order may be lawful.”

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley asked Engel if he agreed. He said that while he did agree that the OLC “must look only at the law and it is not its job to consider questions of policy,” he disagreed with another aspect of Yates' description.

“I do take issue, I think, with the description Ms. Yates gave of OLC's function as being intended to review if there is some way of defending an executive order. We're not litigators in court, trying to come up with reasonable arguments.”

Grassley also asked Engel if, while he was serving on the Trump transition team, anyone asked him to commit to reaching a legal conclusion on behalf of the administration. He said no, adding that he hadn't “even discussed” with anyone the decisions he might make should he be confirmed.

Delrahim was asked how he will ensure the Antitrust Division's independence given that the president has commented on impending mergers. Klobuchar asked what Delrahim would do if he got a call from the White House asking for information about an investigation.

“The independence of the decisions made in prosecuting and reviewing mergers, as well as other conduct, is a serious one that should be free from any political influence,” Delrahim said. “They will be free, if I'm fortunate enough to be confirmed.”

Delrahim was also asked, twice, about how he will go about recusing himself from certain investigations. Delrahim has lobbied for a wide variety of companies and worked on several merger and acquisition deals, including that of health insurers Anthem and Cigna.

Delrahim has previously promised to recuse himself from the Anthem matter, and repeated that promise Wednesday. Senators in the Wednesday hearing also pressed him on how he will weigh recusals in the future. He said one of his first actions upon confirmation will be to meet with “career ethics officials” at DOJ and examine the “contours of recusal.”

“I have three little children,” Delrahim quipped. “I have no intention of going to jail.”

Cogan Schneier covers litigation in Washington, D.C. for the National Law Journal and Law.com. Contact her at [email protected]. On Twitter: @CoganSchneier

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It didn't take long for a Senate committee hearing meant to provide insight into how three Justice Department nominees might run their respective divisions or handle conflicts of interest to shift to the sudden firing of FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday.

The Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Noel Francisco for solicitor general, Makan Delrahim to head the Antitrust Division and Steven Engel to oversee the Office of Legal Counsel, but committee Democrats used their time to address Comey's termination. President Donald Trump fired Comey on Tuesday night.

“As I reflect on the decision to dismiss Director Comey, I become incredulous thinking about the ongoing FBI investigation into Russia's interference with our presidential election, and possible connections to associates of the Trump campaign and administration,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, the committee's ranking member.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, said Comey's dismissal “smack in the middle” of the Russia investigation “raises serious questions.” She said the public “deserves to know” that Justice Department decisions are based on fact, “no matter who, and no matter what, they might lead to.”

No Republicans mentioned Comey outright during the hearing, except Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, who mentioned the nominees' strong resumes and joked that “there's an opening at FBI, if y'all are interested there.”

If confirmed, Francisco, Delrahim and Engel would oversee DOJ functions that require freedom from political leanings or personal opinion. In Engel's case at the Office of Legal Counsel, often referred to as “the president's law firm,” he'll be in charge of reviewing potential executive branch actions and whether they could run afoul of the law.

Once the hearing shifted back to the three nominees, Engel seemed to disagree with former acting Attorney General Sally Yates' assessment of the OLC's function, which she gave in a Senate hearing Monday on the Russia investigation. Asked why she refused to defend Trump's travel ban executive order even though the OLC said it was legal, Yates said the OLC's function is to “look at the face of an executive order and to determine purely on its face whether there is some set of circumstances under which at least some part of the executive order may be lawful.”

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley asked Engel if he agreed. He said that while he did agree that the OLC “must look only at the law and it is not its job to consider questions of policy,” he disagreed with another aspect of Yates' description.

“I do take issue, I think, with the description Ms. Yates gave of OLC's function as being intended to review if there is some way of defending an executive order. We're not litigators in court, trying to come up with reasonable arguments.”

Grassley also asked Engel if, while he was serving on the Trump transition team, anyone asked him to commit to reaching a legal conclusion on behalf of the administration. He said no, adding that he hadn't “even discussed” with anyone the decisions he might make should he be confirmed.

Delrahim was asked how he will ensure the Antitrust Division's independence given that the president has commented on impending mergers. Klobuchar asked what Delrahim would do if he got a call from the White House asking for information about an investigation.

“The independence of the decisions made in prosecuting and reviewing mergers, as well as other conduct, is a serious one that should be free from any political influence,” Delrahim said. “They will be free, if I'm fortunate enough to be confirmed.”

Delrahim was also asked, twice, about how he will go about recusing himself from certain investigations. Delrahim has lobbied for a wide variety of companies and worked on several merger and acquisition deals, including that of health insurers Anthem and Cigna.

Delrahim has previously promised to recuse himself from the Anthem matter, and repeated that promise Wednesday. Senators in the Wednesday hearing also pressed him on how he will weigh recusals in the future. He said one of his first actions upon confirmation will be to meet with “career ethics officials” at DOJ and examine the “contours of recusal.”

“I have three little children,” Delrahim quipped. “I have no intention of going to jail.”