Washington (CNN) The late Democratic former Rep. John Dingell of Michigan thanked his supporters and urged Congress to continue his work protecting American consumers and lands in a Washington Post opinion piece published posthumously Friday.

He also got in a few digs against President Donald Trump and critics of social programs.

"In our modern political age, the presidential bully pulpit seems dedicated to sowing division and denigrating, often in the most irrelevant and infantile personal terms, the political opposition," Dingell wrote, calling for respectful discourse even on crucial policy issues.

"My personal and political character was formed in a different era that was kinder, if not necessarily gentler," he added. "We observed modicums of respect even as we fought, often bitterly and savagely, over issues that were literally life and death to a degree that -- fortunately -- we see much less of today."

Dingell -- the longest-serving member of Congress, with more than 59 years in office -- died Thursday at age 92.

Read More