“The decision ... raises profound questions about whether the White House is brazenly interfering in a criminal matter.”

“James Comey is a man of honor and integrity, and he has led the FBI well in extraordinary circumstances,” McCain said.

The top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, California Rep. Adam Schiff, said, “The decision by a president, whose campaign associates are under investigation by the FBI for collusion with Russia, to fire the man overseeing that investigation, upon the recommendation of an attorney general who has recused himself from that investigation, raises profound questions about whether the White House is brazenly interfering in a criminal matter.” Schiff likened the event to the Watergate firings.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., suggested Trump’s action poses serious constitutional issues, and others called the development “Nixonian.”

“The termination and removal of James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation raises the critical question as to whether the FBI investigation of Russian interference in the last presidential campaign will continue,” Durbin said.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D- Ore., a member of the Senate committee investigating the Trump-Russia issue, said, “I have long been a critic of Director Comey ... but Donald Trump’s decision to fire him now, in the midst of an investigation into Trump associates and their ties to Russia, is outrageous.”

He said Comey should be called to testify before Congress about the status of the TrumpRussia investigations.

“The president would do well to remember that in America, the truth always comes out,” Wyden said.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who questioned Comey at a hearing before a Judiciary subcommittee this week, said the way Trump handled the firing “is shocking.”

“The president has removed the sitting FBI director in the midst of one of the most critical national security investigations in the history of our country. This is nothing less than Nixonian,” he said.

Leahy noted that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whom the president consulted before the firing, was supposed to have recused himself. He said Rosenstein has no choice but to appoint a special counsel.

Others calling for an independent inquiry included Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; Joe Donnelly, D-Ind.; and Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, DCalif., ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said, “The next FBI director must be strong and independent and will receive a fair hearing in the Judiciary Committee.”