Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) delivered a fiery speech on the Senate floor, expressing frustration with members of his own party over what he characterized as a lack of unity and urgency on issues including police funding, civil liberties, and free speech.
The outburst came during debate over a bipartisan bill to support law enforcement agencies, sparking visible tensions among Senate Democrats.
Booker criticized his party’s internal divisions and warned that Democrats risked losing public trust if they failed to stand together on core issues.
“We’re on a slide toward authoritarianism,” Booker said, referencing his concerns about what he described as the erosion of due process and freedom of speech.
“If we can’t come together, we don’t deserve to win elections.”
The remarks came as Democrats debated legislation focused on federal funding for police departments.
The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously, but disagreements emerged over the process and priorities surrounding the legislation.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who co-sponsored the bill, responded to Booker’s comments with pointed remarks about attendance and consistency.
“They passed the Judiciary Committee unanimously. And 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.”
Booker responded emotionally, citing personal experiences with law enforcement in his home state.
“I don’t need lectures about the urgency of this,” he said.
“One of my childhood best friends, a police officer in a small town in New Jersey after a hard day’s work before he even went home to see his family, died by suicide. I don’t need somebody implying in any way that this is not vital to me and my state, that we have resources for our police officers.”
Booker also appeared frustrated with the broader direction of his party’s messaging.
In his remarks, he alluded to concerns about free speech on college campuses and the cancellation of prominent media figures, although those topics were not part of the bill under discussion.
According to multiple reports, Booker also confronted Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) during the same debate session, further highlighting internal discord among Democrats on the Senate floor.
The legislation in question focuses on bolstering funding and support for police departments nationwide.
While the bill had bipartisan support in committee, the floor debate exposed divisions over priorities and messaging, particularly among Democrats balancing law enforcement support with progressive calls for reform.
No Republicans were directly involved in the dispute, which centered largely on Democratic leadership and communication strategy.
The exchange between Booker, Klobuchar, and Cortez Masto marks one of the more public examples of intra-party disagreements over crime policy and law enforcement in recent months.
