Republican members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday pressed U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia judicial nominee Amir Ali on whether the nonprofit civil rights firm he leads has taken a stance toward defunding law enforcement.

Ali, who became executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center in 2021, said he doesn’t agree with comments an attorney with the center made in 2020 advocating the obsolescence of police departments after the police killing of George Floyd. Ali also disavowed a letter the center sent to the New Orleans City Council in June 2020 seeking the adoption of a resolution calling for a reduction in the law enforcement budget.