Washington (CNN) The top two Senate Democrats are siding with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her resistance to launching impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, even as a growing number of Democrats in both chambers are demanding a formal inquiry.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Pelosi is "handling this appropriately" at a news conference days after another top Democrat, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, tweeted her support for opening an inquiry. The No. 2 Senate Democrat, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, also sided with Pelosi, telling CNN, "I'm in Nancy's corner at this point. I really think we need to think about this long and hard about the impact it's going to have."

The move highlights a rift with the Democratic Party over how to take on Trump, with nearly half of House Democrats now calling for an impeachment inquiry. On Sunday, Murray -- the Senate's No. 3 Democrat -- endorsed calls for an impeachment probe, becoming the highest ranking Senate Democrat to do so and underscoring the split in the highest ranks of Senate Democratic leadership.

Pelosi has so far opposed opening an impeachment inquiry, but she has changed her tone in recent days -- something that allies see as a shift in her position. She indicated she no longer considers the Senate GOP's resistance to removing Trump from office as a paramount concern -- and she greenlighted language in a new House lawsuit that states the House Judiciary Committee is considering articles of impeachment against the President.

But the House speaker has insisted the focus needs to remain on House committees' court fights with the Trump administration before deciding on whether to take up an impeachment effort.

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