Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, asked Tuesday about lingering concerns over the Capitol Police Department’s handling of a controversial State of the Union night car chase, said the force does a “masterful job.”

The Nevada Democrat, who put himself through law school working as a Capitol Police officer, called himself a “stalwart defender and protector” of the force, saying they have “a job that is very, very difficult.

“I try not to be critical — if I am critical it’s constructive in nature, and I’m not going to be picking apart something that’s, ‘Somebody doesn’t like the chief or the sergeant at arms.’ I’m not going to get into that,” Reid said.