Sen. Ruben Gallego on Wednesday called former Attorney General Merrick Garland a “coward” over his handling of prosecuting Jan. 6 insurrectionists.

Speaking at an event with Economic Liberties, the Arizona Democrat said it “took way too damn long” to hold anyone accountable for the 2021 attack on the Capitol.

“We didn’t move fast enough in holding Jan. 6 Republicans, the president, everyone up and down the organizations that were helping out, accountable,” Gallego said, adding that he “100 percent” blames Garland for not being more aggressive.

Despite more than 1,500 people being charged with crimes for their participation in the deadly attack on the Capitol, some Democrats were displeased with Garland’s prosecution tactics.

Though Trump was eventually indicted on federal charges, some Democrats accused Garland of waiting too long to launch an investigation into Trump. Garland announced the appointment of special counsel Jack Smith in 2022, citing Trump’s reelection bid as part of his decision to begin the investigation.

“I think he was a coward, and if I could ever take down his photo from the U.S. Attorney’s office, I would gladly do it,” Gallego said of Garland. “He was willing to sacrifice our democracy for the institution of the DOJ. There is no DOJ without democracy.”

The remarks from Gallego echo his previous criticism of Garland for his handling of Jan. 6 prosecutions, including when he was still in office.

“I’m just not seeing the urgency from the attorney general,” Gallego told CNN in 2022. “He’s thinking more about protecting the institution of the Department of Justice. And I appreciate that, but he has to be thinking about protecting the institution of democracy.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats have submitted their latest proposal for pairing Department of Homeland Security funding with immigration enforcement policy changes.

“Democrats sent Republicans our counteroffer on legislation to reopen DHS, pay TSA workers, while at the same time rein in ICE with commonsense guardrails,” Schumer said, adding that the offer “contains some of the very same asks Democrats have been talking about now for months” on changes to immigration enforcement tactics.

Schumer met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Wednesday to discuss the funding stalemate.

President Donald Trump called on Congress Wednesday to quickly extend a key surveillance program amid a Republican rebellion that is threatening to tank the effort ahead of an April 20 deadline.

“When used properly, [the program] is an effective tool to keep Americans safe,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday. “For these reasons, I have called for a clean 18-month extension.”

He emphasized that restrictions included in the last reauthorization of the Section 702 spy program should remain in place. Trump also argued that the ongoing war against Iran should lead Congress to act quickly given the program, which allows intelligence agencies to monitor communications abroad without a warrant, is “extremely important to our Military.”

“With the ongoing successful Military activities against the Terrorist Iranian Regime, it is more important than ever that we remain vigilant, PROTECT our Homeland, Troops, and Diplomats stationed abroad, and maintain our ability to quickly stop bad actors seeking to cause harm to our People and our Country,” Trump said.

Blue Light News previously reported that the White House had privately communicated Trump’s support for a straight extension to key congressional leaders.

Speaker Mike Johnson pushed House Republican hard-liners who want new restrictions against domestic surveillance to back the extension Trump wants, including in a closed-door House GOP meeting Wednesday morning. Several Republicans still raised concerns about the “clean” reauthorization plan, including Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia.