WASHINGTON — Pam Bondi, Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, sought to reassure Democratic senators Wednesday that her Justice Department would not prosecute anyone for political purposes but also refused to rule out the potential for investigations into adversaries of the Republican president-elect.

Her often-testy confirmation hearing centered on concerns that Trump would seek to use the Justice Department’s law enforcement powers to exact retribution against opponents, including investigators who investigated him. Democrats pressed her on whether she could maintain the department’s independence from the White House and say no to the president if asked to do something unethical, while Republicans welcomed her as a course correction for a Justice Department they believe has pursued a liberal agenda and unfairly pursued Trump through investigations resulting in two indictments.

“What would you do if your career DOJ prosecutors came to you with a case to prosecute, grounded in the facts and law, but the White House directs you to drop the case?” asked Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat.

“Senator,” Bondi replied, “if I thought that would happen, I would not be sitting here today. That will not happen.”

The line of questioning laid bare what Democrats see as the stakes of Bondi’s appointment, particularly given the pressure Trump wielded on his Justice Department during his first term to advance his personal interests, including by demanding that the-then FBI director abandon an investigation into an ally and by firing his first attorney general following his recusal from an investigation into Trump’s 2016 campaign. Heading into another term, he’s also called for investigations into perceived foes, including prosecutors and lawmakers who investigated him over offenses including trying to undo the 2020 election.

“I need to know that you would tell the president ‘no’ if you’re asked to do something that’s wrong, illegal or unconstitutional,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee’s top Democrat, noting how Bondi had represented Trump during the first of two Senate impeachment trials.

Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida and the first woman to hold that job, repeatedly stressed that she would not play politics with the Justice Department or pursue anyone for political reasons. She said she would uphold the Constitution and said the public, not the president, would be her client.

“Of course not,” she said when asked by Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana if she would “start with a name to prosecute and then look for a crime.” “I hope no attorney general going forward would ever do that,” she added.

But those reassurances seemed unlikely to allay Democratic concerns about her loyalty to Trump. Her testimony at times echoed Trump’s campaign trail rhetoric as she refused to denounce some of his more incendiary claims and repeatedly invoked the size of Trump’s election win in November — “Look at the map of California, Sen. Schiff. It’s bright red” — as proof of a mandate for sweeping change.

She also made clear her allegiance to Trump by repeatedly refusing to denounce some of his most incendiary stances, such as his claims that supporters arrested in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol were “hostages” or “patriots.”