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Sen. Cory Booker began a marathon speech on the Senate floor on Monday evening, vowing to speak as long as he’s “physically able” to protest President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“In just 71 days, the president has inflicted harm after harm on Americans’ safety; financial stability; the foundations of our democracy; and any sense of common decency,” Booker will say in launching his speech, according to prepared remarks. “These are not normal times in our nation. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”
The New Jersey Democrat and former presidential candidate, now elevated to party leadership, plans to cite conservative media like The Wall Street Journal and the Cato Institute during what he hopes is a speech longer than the 15-hour mark he reached in a 2016 gun violence speech alongside Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
Booker is preparing to speak well into Tuesday if he can maintain his endurance. He hopes to disrupt some of the GOP’s plans for Senate business, though it’s not yet clear how that will play out.
His bid for a big stand on the floor is a new twist in Democrats’ attempts to maximize their waning leverage to force any concessions from a Republican Party that controls all of Washington. With little other opportunities to thwart Republicans on the Senate floor, Booker is taking any chance he can to show his party’s fight against Trump, after many Democrats initially took a wait-and-see approach to the president’s actions.
Booker plans to talk about Republicans’ tax cut proposal and its potential to explode the deficit, as well as the punitive effects of Trump’s tariffs and the importance of protecting entitlement programs. He’s preparing to read letters from his constituents and to get an assist from members of his caucus, who are allowed to ask questions while Booker holds the floor.
But once Booker starts talking, he can’t leave — which means, hopefully, that he’s fueled up on caffeine.
Booker gave party leaders and the Senate cloakrooms a heads up ahead of his move, which followed a vote to advance Matt Whitaker’s nomination to be representative to NATO. That final confirmation vote will likely take place sometime on Tuesday.
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Booker was recently elected to the higher rungs of Democratic leadership, taking the No. 4 position as the chair of the strategic communications committee. Part of his job is to help his caucus gain exposure and traction on social media and the airwaves.
To that end, his speech indicates that Democrats know they need to try new tactics to get attention in a Washington dominated by Trump and Republicans with little desire to cross him.
“I rise tonight because to be silent at this moment of national crisis would be a betrayal, and because at stake in this moment is nothing less than everything that makes us who we are,” Booker will say on Monday, according to prepared remarks.
There are limits to what Booker can accomplish, both physically and otherwise. But in a Democratic Party that certainly needs a jolt, his colleagues will probably welcome his floor maneuver.
Notable
- Booker’s rhetorical flair has been on full display on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including a fiery speech during Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing, as Politico captured.
- He’s also a semi-regular presence on early 2028 presidential short lists, including Fox News’.