Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) took to the Senate floor on Monday at 7 p.m. to criticize President Donald Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and the current state of affairs under the Trump administration. He vowed to continue to do so for as long as he was “physically able” to continue to do so.
“Tonight, I rise with the intention of getting in some good trouble,” Booker said at the beginning of his speech. “I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able.”
The senator from New Jersey declared his intentions in a post on social media, stating that he was doing so because “Donald Trump and Elon Musk” disregarded the “rule of law and Constitution.”
“I’m heading to the Senate floor because Donald Trump and Elon Musk have shown a complete disregard for the rule of law, the Constitution, and the needs of the American people,” Booker said.
Booker claimed the country is at a tipping point due to the Trump administration’s actions. This emergency is the basis for his lengthy speech.
“I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis,” he said.
“In just 71 days, the president of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans’ safety; financial stability; the core foundations of our democracy,” Booker said. “These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”
Booker discussed various topics, including immigration, healthcare, and DOGE, among others. He also shared stories during his talk allegedly from voters across the county who expressed worry and concern regarding Trump’s actions.
Other Democratic senators, including Sens. Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Chris Murphy (D-NJ), spoke during Booker’s marathon speech session. Both condescendingly referred to Trump’s presidency as “not normal.” Murphy warned that the Trump administration was creating a series of threats against the people of the country.
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“Your ability to see that we are facing a series of threats that are not normal,” Murphy said. “A series of threats to families, to children, to individuals, threats to our democracy, threats to our rule of law, I think it’s really important. And you have endeavored to do something extraordinary here, to stand on your feet for as long as you can to convey both to our colleagues and to the public that, because these are not normal times, what is required of us is something different than a normal response.”
Booker was still speaking as of 2 a.m. on Tuesday. The senator’s actions have been erroneously identified as a filibuster. However, to accurately be considered a filibuster, Booker’s speech would have to be in objection to a proposed legislation, not just a list of grievances from a member of one political party about another.
