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From March 31 to April 1, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey broke the record for the longest speech in Senate history, clocking in at just over 25 hours. Senator Booker’s goal with this speech was to protest the recent actions of the Trump administration, specifically their attacks on the American social safety net.
Throughout the grueling 25 hours that Senator Booker retained the floor, he could not eat, he could not use the bathroom and he could not sit.
In the name of “government efficiency,” the federal government has its sights set on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in their newest budget rendition. Despite repeated denial that these programs will not be touched, with the current tax cuts that the Republicans are championing, there would be nowhere else for this money to come from other than sacrificing the wavering social safety net that millions of Americans rely on.
After calling Social Security “the biggest Ponzi scheme” in the history of the U.S., the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, has been spearheading the conservative push to privatize Social Security and the healthcare industry. Though reports are indicating that Musk will soon be ousted from his position at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), his effects on U.S. policy will be felt for years to come should Republicans emerge successful in the killing of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
No, Musk, Social Security is not a “Ponzi scheme.” It is keeping hard working Americans alive and it is protecting the little dignity they still have. By gutting these programs, Musk and Trump are not just telling but showing us that they do not care about Americans.
If the current administration truly cared about saving taxpayers money and making the government more efficient, they would start with cutting the egregiously high military budget. But this is not their goal. This is what tyrants do. They lie, they cheat and they steal from the very people they swore to protect. This is corruption at its finest, but no one seems to care enough to put a stop to it.
Not only is Senator Booker’s speech a historic moment monumental in and of itself, but the previous record holder was none other than Strom Thurmond.
In 1957, Thurmond, then Senator from South Carolina, spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes to block voting on the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Thurmond, who fathered a Black child, held this record for 68 years after his racist filibuster, only for the record to be broken by the first African-American Senator from New Jersey, an incredibly inspirational moment.
Throughout his speech, Booker repeatedly and emotionally spoke of the late John Lewis, with whom he had a close relationship with towards the end of Lewis’ life. Booker recounted moments of Lewis’ never ending compassion, reaching out with love to a young freshman senator following in the footsteps of a revolutionary.
Lewis literally bled to pave the way for Booker to hold the floor for these 25 hours to outlast the white supremacist legacy of Thurmond.
While this speech was a truly inspirational and beautiful moment in American history, it is ever important to not idolize politicians, but to idolize actions.
Senator Booker, throughout his campaigns, has received close to $1 million from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which works tirelessly to oust any and all pro-Palestinian politicians. While Booker is nowhere near the only Senator to receive funding from AIPAC, it is important to be critical of members of both parties who make their way to Congress by means of foreign funding.
On a similar note, Senator Booker held strong in his rhetoric that the wealthiest Americans are not only deserving of the wealth that they hoard, but that it is commendable that they have acquired such wealth and that they are providing for the middle class.
Not only is this problematic on its face, but especially today as the wealthiest man on the planet is taking a chainsaw to the federal government with very little repercussions or response from the “opposition.”
Billionaires are not your friends. They do not have your best interests at heart. All that matters to them is their wealth and power.
We cannot be sympathetic to the oligarchs who stand to benefit from the heinous actions being taken by the president and his loyal subjects. Senator Booker repeated the mantra of the fight not being left vs. right but right vs. wrong, and while this is correct, it is more importantly a vertical fight.
My message to the Democratic Party? Grow a backbone.
Why has it taken so long for a member of Congress to physically get in the way of the authoritarianism of the Trump administration? Booker correctly claimed that Republicans aren’t stepping out of line because of threats from Elon Musk, but why aren’t the Democrats?
Congressional Democrats have sat on their hands for far too long and Booker bravely set the precedent for what all of his colleagues must do. It is imperative that Democrats do everything in their power to block any and all measures being pushed through Congress by the Trump administration in order to safeguard our fragile democracy.
Each and every congressional Democrat should rise up and stand proudly as Senator Booker did to put an end to this madness. American lives are at risk and our opposition is nowhere to be found.
We cannot wait until the midterm elections of 2026 to voice our discontent with the lack of action being taken by our representatives. I implore you to call your representatives, write to them, become involved in your community and take to the streets.
Voting is not the only way to make your voice heard, and now more than ever it is crucial for the people to take the power back.
Jackson Small is a columnist. Contact him at [email protected].