Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has been railing against President Donald Trump for about 16 hours on the Senate floor in what he might view as another “Spartacus moment.”
The senator began his long speech on the Senate floor on Monday, saying he would remain there as long as he was “physically able,” The Associated Press reported. He began by stating, “I rise today in an unusual manner” and that he rose “with the intention of getting in some good trouble,” citing late congressman John Lewis.
He continued, saying, “These are not normal times in our nation” and that “they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”
Booker railed against cuts to Social Security offices and spoke to concerns that broader cuts to the social safety net could be coming, though Republican lawmakers say the program won’t be touched.
On Tuesday morning, Booker got some help from Democratic colleagues, who gave him a break from speaking to ask him a question. Booker said he would yield for questions but would not give up the Senate floor.
Booker might be trying to beat Strom Thurmond’s record. He ranted on for 24 hours and 18 minutes in an attempt to block passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
Throughout his diatribe, the senator read letters from constituents who claim President Donald Trump’s policies are harming them. Various other Democratic senators stood with Booker, according to CBS News.
Booker occasionally yielded to his Democratic colleagues on the floor, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Peter Welch of Vermont, Dick Durbin of Illinois and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York as they echoed his concerns with the administration and encouraged his effort.
After 7 a.m. Tuesday, Booker acknowledged the 12 hours that has passed, saying he's "wide awake" and would "stand here for as many hours as I can."
Congrats to Cory Booker for wasting nearly 12 hours of his life speaking to no one. pic.twitter.com/g0jsYGdp27
— Tim Sharp 🍊 🍊 🇺🇸 (@realtimsharp) April 1, 2025
In one instance, Booker got emotional while reading a letter from a constituent who was laid off as a result of Trump’s purge of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Elon Musk called USAID a criminal organization that should die, he said. The President of the United States deemed us radical left lunatics. I was terrified, afraid of what people might do when two of the most powerful men in the world were saying things like that,” the letter read, according to Booker.
Our jobs were then in question, and the USAID offices were quickly closed. With our belongings still in them. We were left not knowing what our fate would be for weeks. As DOGE dismantled USAID, I watched in horror as the programs shut down, the people we served suffered, and friends and colleagues from the agency and our partner organizations their livelihoods and their mission-driven careers.
Senator Cory Booker enters his 16th hour on the Senate floor for his filibuster.
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) April 1, 2025
He gets emotional while reading a letter from a constituent who was laid off from USAID by Elon Musk and DOGE.
Thank you, Cory! pic.twitter.com/68ummQrxRv
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