WASHINGTON — Sen. Cory Booker chastised his Democratic colleagues in a heated confrontation on Tuesday for failing to stand up to President Donald Trump amid debate over bipartisan legislation that would provide resources for police departments nationwide.
The New Jersey Democrat objected to the quick passage of several bills that were approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously last week. He warned that the Trump administration would ultimately not provide the funding to police departments in blue cities if the measures passed, then erupted at Democrats who supported the legislation.
“That is complicity with an authoritarian leader who is trashing our Constitution. It’s time for Democrats to have a backbone, it’s time for us to draw lines,” Booker shouted on the Senate floor, his voice booming so loud it could be heard in the hallways outside the chamber.
“Don’t question my integrity, don’t question my motives, I’m standing for Jersey, I’m standing for my police officers, I’m standing for the Constitution,” he continued. “And dear God, if you want to come at me that way, you’re going to have to take it up with me.
“If we don’t stand up as Democrats, we deserve to lose,” he warned.
The legislation was put forward for quick passage by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who argued that issues like support for local police departments ought to transcend partisan politics. It included funds aimed at helping police guard against exposure to dangerous substances and providing aid for police officers and other first responders struggling with mental health issues.
Klobuchar, speaking with reporters after the public spat on the Senate floor, criticized Booker for missing the opportunity to argue against the legislation in a meeting last week of the Judiciary committee, on which he also serves.
“I can’t help it if someone couldn’t change their schedule to be there,” Klobuchar said. “I think that these hearings should mean something and that people should be saying the same thing they say on Police Week, when those people are sitting out there in the uniform who have lost loved ones, as they say on this Senate floor.”
Cortez Masto, a former attorney general from the swing state of Nevada, also swiped at Booker by seemingly referring to the 24-hour marathon speech he gave earlier this year on the Senate floor in opposition to the Trump administration’s budget cuts.
“Standing up to Trump isn’t about long speeches, it’s about winning and then legislating and getting stuff done for the American people,” she said in a statement.
The rare intraparty clash on the Senate floor comes amid dismal approval ratings for the Democratic Party and deep dissatisfaction within its base that party leaders are not doing enough to counter the administration’s likely illegal actions and Trump’s corruption.
“There’s a lot of us in this caucus that want to fucking fight,” a heated Booker told reporters after his speech on the Senate floor. “And what’s bothering me right now is we don’t see enough fight in this caucus.“
Booker is up for reelection next year. He’s also viewed as a potential 2028 presidential contender who has amassed a huge $10 million war chest, thanks in large part to his marathon speech on the Senate floor earlier this year.