Congress
Cory Booker launches marathon Senate speech
Sen. Cory Booker is planning to hold the Senate floor for as long as he can in an effort to protest actions by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
The New Jersey Democrat took to the Senate floor on Monday evening, wearing a black suit and armed with a thick binder, and is expected to speak through the night and as far into Tuesday as he can manage. Other Democratic senators are expected to join him on the floor throughout his planned talk-a-thon.
Booker said Monday he is speaking “because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis” and involved the legacy of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).
“Tonight I rise with the intention of getting in some good trouble — I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able,” he said.
Booker’s marathon session comes as Senate Republicans plan to move forward this week to take their next step in advancing President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” merging together an overhaul of the tax code with border, energy and defense policies.
It also comes as Democrats are under pressure, from inside Congress and outside, to show that they are willing to fight and use the limited leverage they have given that Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House.
Depending on how long he is able to go, he could disrupt Senate business on Tuesday, though his speech technically isn’t a filibuster — the chamber is currently in a limited period of debate time for Matthew Whitaker’s nomination as ambassador to NATO. Booker previously held the floor for roughly 15 hours in 2016 with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) to discuss gun violence.
Booker is expected to cite Wall Street Journal editorials, the Cato Institute and Republican voices to address several issues including “rule of law,” tariffs, corruption and the GOP’s forthcoming reconciliation bill.
Former Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina holds the Senate record for longest solo speech, at 24 hours and 18 minutes — an unsuccessful filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is in the Capitol meeting with holdout GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Bill Cassidy of Louisiania as he tries to lock down their support for his confirmation as permanent leader of the Justice Department.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) declined to respond directly Wednesday to Speaker Mike Johnson’s refusal to denounce his former son-in-law Rep. Max Miller over abuse accusations leveled by Moreno’s daughter: “These aren’t accusations in my world,” he said.
“In my world, this is the reality,” Moreno told reporters at the Capitol. “This is not something that is theoretical to me. This is my lived reality of my daughter and my family every single solitary day.”
In an interview with Dasha Burns for Blue Light News’s The Conversation, Johnson declined to take sides in the dispute between Miller (R-Ohio) and Emily Moreno. He called for a House Ethics probe to “play out.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s expected choice for Army chief of staff faces resistance that could imperil his confirmation, according to the chair of the panel that needs to approve it.
Senate Armed Services head Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said Wednesday that he was aware of “some opposition within the committee” to acting Army chief of staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve taking the job on a permanent basis.
LaNeve, previously Hegseth’s senior military aide, was confirmed as Army vice chief of staff in January. But he has also served as acting chief of staff since April when Hegseth forced out popular Gen. Randy George, a move that drew widespread criticism from lawmakers in both parties.
Wicker said he was “not able to predict right now” if lawmakers could address concerns about LaNeve. He did not specify whether the concerns were raised by Republicans, but GOP resistance is likely given that nominees could advance through the committee on a party-line vote.
LaNeve has only held the position of four-star general for six months, an anomaly for the the senior most Army officer.
The Wall Street Journal first reported about Republican opposition to LaNeve, citing Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) concerns about his lack of experience at the four-star rank.
Ernst, in an interview, did not dispute that she was the source of the holdup. But she called it a moot point as President Donald Trump has not yet formally nominated LaNeve to the position. And she disputed reports that LaNeve’s lack of experience was the sticking point.
“I don’t think that time and grade has anything to do with leadership ability, so I don’t know how that came about, honestly.” she said. “That’s not what I’ve told anyone.”
If the opposition continues, Trump could decide to leave LeNeve in the acting position indefinitely.
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