Congressional Democrats launched a bid Wednesday to eliminate the federal death penalty, directly challenging President Donald Trump’s aggressive public safety agenda, which recently expanded federal execution options to include firing squads for crimes such as mass-casualty terrorism, police killings and child murder.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, led a coalition of 17 senators and 20 representatives in introducing the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act. The bill would abolish the federal death penalty and require courts to resentence everyone currently on federal death row.

Durbin criticized capital punishment on the Senate floor Wednesday, pointing to demographic and economic statistics to argue the justice system is unequal.

He said 90% of individuals facing capital charges can’t afford private counsel and noted black Americans make up 41% of the federal death row population.

“The death penalty is not a punishment reserved for the worst of the worst; it is one reserved for the poorest of the poor. And it is a penalty disproportionately faced by black Americans,” Durbin said, maintaining his long-standing opposition to the practice.

However, according to official federal court guidance, the 90% statistic broadly applies to federal criminal defendants overall, not specifically to capital cases.

Capital defendants are guaranteed at least two defense attorneys under the Criminal Justice Act, exceeding the legal representation typically provided in standard criminal cases.

Durbin also challenged one of the primary arguments for capital punishment, saying it doesn’t deter violent crime.

“There has yet to be any evidence conclusively demonstrating that the death penalty deters people from committing heinous crimes compared to the threat of life in prison,” Durbin said.

A major public safety report released by the Trump Justice Department pushed back against those claims, arguing Americans have consistently supported capital punishment because it delivers justice, deters horrific crimes and provides closure to victims’ families.

The report also outlines steps to strengthen the federal death penalty system and directs the Federal Bureau of Prisons to expand execution protocols to include firing squads.

The Trump administration’s report argues execution by firing squad has a long history in the United States and doesn’t violate the Eighth Amendment.

Even liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor acknowledged in a 2017 case that a properly conducted firing squad execution may result in nearly instantaneous death.

“In addition to being near instant, death by shooting may also be comparatively painless. And historically, the firing squad has yielded significantly fewer botched executions,” Sotomayor wrote.

Durbin and the Democrats backing the bill disagreed.

“These barbaric tactics will be remembered as a stain on our nation’s history. We must not engage in the very conduct we seek to punish,” Durbin said.

Federal officials are modeling the firing squad on procedures used in states such as Utah and South Carolina. Utah’s protocol uses five peace officers armed with .30-caliber rifles to fire at a target placed over the inmate’s heart.

The DOJ also instructed the Bureau of Prisons to study expanding federal death row capacity or building a second execution facility in a state supportive of capital punishment.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the tougher approach, criticizing the previous administration’s policies.

“The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” Blanche said in the report.

Former President Joe Biden paused federal executions during his administration and sought to reduce the use of capital punishment. Before leaving office, Biden granted clemency to 37 of the 40 inmates on federal death row.