President-elect Donald Trump’s attorney general pick vowed to be independent when a Democratic senator urged her not to put environmental enforcement on the backburner.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island noted during Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing that criminal prosecutions against polluters dropped sharply during Trump’s first term. The environment division at the Department of Justice is responsible for defending federal air, water and climate protections, as well as holding polluters legally accountable.

“I don’t want environmental prosecutions to be an ignored stepchild subset,” Whitehouse said. “It’s law just like any other law.”

He specifically asked Bondi — who faced many questions Wednesday about how she would ensure that DOJ stays independent from Trump’s influence — whether she would stand up to oil companies and other entities that will want DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) to take a lax approach with the nation’s pollution laws.

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