Trey Gowdy on Biden’s proposal for criminal justice reform: ‘Why didn’t you do it when you had 8 years?’

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Trey Gowdy: Why will Biden's 48th year of public service be different?

Trey Gowdy explains where he disagrees with Joe Biden on criminal justice reform

During his visit to Kenosha, Wis., on Thursday, former Vice President Joe Biden offered a variety of suggestions for criminal justice reform under his campaign but Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., questioned why he hadn’t executed these proposals in his almost 50 years of service.

“Why will the 48th year of your public service be different from the previous 47?” he asked “Bill Hemmer Reports.” “I mean, there's nothing new in what he proposed. So why didn't you do it when you had eight years?”

Gowdy pointed out that the Department of Justice under the Obama Administration saw a decline in firearms prosecutions, which means the department that wanted elevated gun laws was “doing a worse job prosecuting the ones we currently have.”

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks as he meets with community members at Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wis., Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

As a prosecutor, Gowdy said this is where he disagrees with Biden and explained that harmful members of society need to be separated, not offered assistive programs.

“I think a very small segment of our population wants to hurt you,” he said. “It's a very small group, but they don't need reading programs and they don't need more money for their bus ride back home. They need to be separated from society.”

Gowdy added that he’s “open-minded” to these programs in cases involving narcotics, but not for those who “want to hurt people.”

“What I heard from Biden is a long list of things he had a chance to do and he didn't do it,” he said.