Cory Booker hijacks Senate floor for marathon speech to protest Trump
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) seized the Senate floor on Monday night, in protest of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency task force and the impact that all the summary funding cuts and civil service layoffs are having on his home state — all of which was covered closely by CNN's Manu Raju.
"Manu, obviously, this is a — you know, I'm thinking back to Ted Cruz's 'Green Eggs and Ham,' but, I mean, this is the beginning of what is literally a marathon, but a lot of drama here," said anchor Erin Burnett. "How long is Booker going to go?"
"He could really go as long as he wants," said Raju. "And he's indicated as he opened this speech that he would go as long as he is able and potentially could go late into the night, all night, overnight into the next day. It just depends on his stamina at this moment. This is all part of an effort, an uptick of sorts, of Democrats trying to ratchet up their rhetoric against Donald Trump and his policies. And Cory Booker, as he opened his speech, gave a taste of what he's objecting to on the Senate floor."
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"It should not be possible in America for one single man — even an elected president — to stop funds which Congress has already allocated," Booker said in his speech.
"While it's not common for senators to give these long-form speeches, it is also not unprecedented either," noted Raju. "We've seen some marathon floor speeches over the years. Senator Jeff Merkley, in recent years, delivered one about 15 hours or so. Senator Rand Paul has done that in the past. And as well as the longest speech in the history of the Senate was senator, the late senator Strom Thurmond. Twenty-four hours and 18 minutes. That was back in 1957 to object to the Civil Rights Act at the time."
"So we'll see if — how long Booker plans to go," Raju concluded. "This is not an actual filibuster, Erin, but it's actually a long floor speech. But he can go as long as he wants."
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