FILE PHOTO: Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) arrives before a Senate Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee hearing titled "Stifling Free Speech: Technological Censorship and the Public Discourse." on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley on Tuesday urged Democrats not to use impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump to delay action on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement.

Grassley criticized Democrats for launching an impeachment inquiry over reports that Trump sought foreign help to smear a political rival, since he had pledged to release a transcript of his phone call with the Ukrainian president.

“If Democrats use impeachment proceedings as a basis to not act on policy that will directly benefit Americans like the USMCA or lowering prescription drug prices, that would prove they’re more interested in politics and opposing the president at all costs than serving the American people,” Grassley said in a statement.