WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday he plans to introduce a resolution rejecting former President Donald Trump’s call to defund the Justice Department and FBI.
Trump, who is seeking to regain the presidency in 2024, made the plea to his fellow Republicans in Congress one day after being charged in New York with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He pleaded not guilty.
Schumer, a Democrat, said he would offer a Senate resolution rejecting Trump’s move, calling it a “a baseless, self-serving broadside against the men and women who keep our nation safe.”
The resolution would recognize the dedication of the people who serve in the law enforcement agencies, condemn calls to defund Justice and the FBI, and reject partisan attempts to degrade public trust in them, Schumer said in a statement.
While Democrats have a slim majority in the Senate, Republicans took control of the House of Representatives.
“The former President and his allies in Congress must not subjugate justice and public safety because of their own personal grievances,” Schumer said.
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A resolution is often used to express lawmakers’ approval or disapproval of something they cannot vote on.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, editing by Ed Osmond)