Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker accused U.S. President Donald Trump of “recklessly” attacking U.S. democratic institutions in a marathon speech that was close to record on Tuesday.
The 55-year-old New Jersey lawmaker continued through the evening during his speech that began Monday at 7 p.m. until Tuesday afternoon, when the Republican president and his main adviser Elon Musk cut a large number of federal blockbusters.
Booker, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2013, said: “Our institutions are being attacked and even broken in reckless and unconstitutional.”
In the first few weeks of his tenure, Trump’s administration has moved to thorough shutters of certain weapons of the administration, including the U.S. Department of Education, and retained spending approved by Congress and challenged federal court authorizations to limit its policies.
Trump has become angry in recent weeks, shocking the long-standing American league and cutting more than 100,000 federal workers, backed by the Republican-controlled Congress. The anger is directed both to Republican lawmakers and Democrats’ own leaders, including senior Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, who worked with Senate Republicans to pass a government funding bill to avoid partial shutdowns.
“Cory Booker is looking for another moment when I’m Spartacus, but that doesn’t work for his failed presidential campaign, to no avail, to stop President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.”
Booker approaches Senate record
By Tuesday afternoon, Booker is approaching the longest ongoing speech in the Senate history, currently held by South Carolina’s segregated Senator Strom Thurmond.
In the summer of 1957, Thurmond launched a taboo against civil rights legislation, which lasted 24 hours and 18 minutes. Finally, Thurmond failed to block a bill that expanded federal protections for black voting rights.
Since Booker’s speech is not specific to legislation, although it has stopped other Senate actions, it is not technically considered a fil word.
Booker’s only break was when a group of Democrats (one-on-one) came to the floor to ask him a question so that he could control his speech time.
By Tuesday afternoon, he began showing signs of nervousness. When he dropped a piece of paper from the table, he lowered his head, very slowly, and cautiously began to bend over and pick it up, only to be rescued by Democratic Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, who provided him with help.
One unified theme of Booker’s anger is Musk’s campaign to cut the size and scope of the U.S. government.
