'This Admin. Is Not Working For Ordinary People': Warnock, Dem Senators Join Cory Booker Filibuster

2 days ago

During Sen. Cory Booker's (D-NJ) historic filibuster, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and other Democratic Senators asked questions and criticized the Trump Administration.

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Transcript

00:00:00And then that fateful day, January 6th, he has been a friend of mine for a long time,

00:00:04and I think he might be the only person in this body—

00:00:06I started this talk 13 hours ago by talking about getting into good trouble—

00:00:10I think you might be the only person in this body that was arrested in this building for protesting

00:00:14before you came to serve in this building as a United States senator.

00:00:19I'm going to stick to what I'm told to say.

00:00:22If you ask me that you'd like to speak, you have to say that I'd like to ask you a question.

00:00:27I think that's how this goes.

00:00:30Will the senator from New Jersey yield for a question?

00:00:32Why, yes. I will yield for a question while retaining the floor.

00:00:37Well, good morning, and let me just say, Cory Booker, how very, very proud I am of you.

00:00:48It's a real honor to serve in this body.

00:00:54I know that all of my colleagues who are here agree

00:00:58that it's an honor for the people of your state to say that

00:01:02when we take stock of all the issues that we wrestle with,

00:01:06as we look into the eyes of our children

00:01:11and consider what we want for them,

00:01:14and in the eyes of our aging parents as they deal with the blessings and the burdens of getting older,

00:01:20that since all of us can't go to Washington, we're going to send you.

00:01:27And we're going to trust that in rooms of power,

00:01:31where decisions are being made,

00:01:35that you're going to center the people

00:01:39and not yourself.

00:01:43You're going to be thinking about ordinary people.

00:01:45And so, Cory Booker, I want to thank you for holding vigil.

00:01:54As I prepare to ask you a question,

00:01:56I just want to thank you for holding vigil for this country all night.

00:02:03Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

00:02:06said that when he marched without the king,

00:02:10he felt like his legs were praying.

00:02:15And so, in a very real sense, your legs have been praying

00:02:21as you've been standing on this floor all night.

00:02:24And thank you for praying not just with your lips, but with your legs

00:02:32for a nation in need of healing.

00:02:34I just got off a prayer call

00:02:37that I do every Tuesday morning at 7.14 a.m.,

00:02:422 Chronicles 7.14.

00:02:44If my people who are called by my name

00:02:48would humble themselves and pray,

00:02:50if they would seek my face, turn from their wicked ways,

00:02:53then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins

00:02:57and heal the land.

00:02:58The nation needs healing.

00:03:02And we need spiritual healing, we need moral healing.

00:03:08But literally, there are people all across our country who need healing,

00:03:11who need health care.

00:03:14And so that's why I was so proud

00:03:17to come to this Senate

00:03:19after being arrested in the rotunda a few years before that.

00:03:26Proud to join you in this Senate.

00:03:29Proud that we were able to pass,

00:03:32just a couple months after I got here,

00:03:34the American Rescue Plan,

00:03:37which did so much incredible work.

00:03:43In that American Rescue Plan,

00:03:45there was the expanded child tax credit,

00:03:48which literally cut child poverty

00:03:50more than 40% in our country.

00:03:53I wish we could get it extended.

00:03:56But one of the other things we did was

00:03:59we lowered Georgians and Americans' health care premiums

00:04:04by hundreds of dollars on average.

00:04:06We passed a tax cut,

00:04:08and that's so relevant in this moment

00:04:10because that's what this body is prepared to do right now, I guess,

00:04:13in the next few days.

00:04:15We passed a tax cut,

00:04:17but that tax cut is literally going to be

00:04:19for the richest of the rich,

00:04:22the wealthiest among us.

00:04:24But we passed a tax cut

00:04:26that brought health care into reach

00:04:29for tens of thousands of Georgians

00:04:31and millions of Americans

00:04:33in the American Rescue Plan.

00:04:35These tax credits are so critical

00:04:39that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office

00:04:42said that the number of Americans without health care

00:04:46would grow by 3.8 million people

00:04:53in just one year

00:04:56if the premium subsidies were allowed to expire.

00:05:04Forgive me for my phone ringing.

00:05:06My eight-year-old and six-year-old are calling me.

00:05:08They're not impressed with what I'm doing.

00:05:10They're not impressed.

00:05:13But we know that this impact,

00:05:21this would impact thousands of Georgians

00:05:25who've only recently been able to receive health care.

00:05:28So we passed in that American Rescue Plan

00:05:31these tax credits which put health care in reach,

00:05:34and now they're set to expire

00:05:37if we don't do our work.

00:05:38And that's why what you're doing, Cory Booker, is holy work.

00:05:43It's within a political context,

00:05:45but this is holy work.

00:05:47These tax credits are allowed to expire

00:05:49a 45-year-old in Georgia

00:05:51with $62,000 annual income

00:05:54would see premiums go up by $1,414 a year.

00:06:00A 60-year-old couple in Georgia

00:06:03with an $82,000 annual income

00:06:05would see premiums go up by a staggering $18,157 a year.

00:06:14Think about that.

00:06:16Nearly one-third of Americans have less than $500

00:06:19in savings in their bank account.

00:06:22Imagine the health care costs

00:06:26for a 60-year-old couple

00:06:29going up by more than $18,000.

00:06:34A health insurance premium hike like this

00:06:38would be more than an inconvenience.

00:06:41It wouldn't just be a nuisance.

00:06:45It's literally the difference

00:06:47between having health care coverage

00:06:49and not having health care coverage.

00:06:53And so I'm thinking about people like that.

00:06:57And I'm thinking about my constituent Cassie,

00:06:59and I'm thinking about my constituent Cassie Cox

00:07:02from Bainbridge, Georgia.

00:07:04She wasn't able to afford health care

00:07:06on the Affordable Care Act marketplace

00:07:09until the premium tax credit brought health care into reach.

00:07:13And shortly after she became insured,

00:07:16she severely cut her hand,

00:07:19which landed her in the emergency room

00:07:21with 35 stitches.

00:07:23And with insurance,

00:07:25it still cost her about $300.

00:07:27Had it not been for the tax credits

00:07:29that allowed her to get health care,

00:07:31she could have been in financial ruin.

00:07:34She's one of the hundreds of thousands of Georgians

00:07:37at risk of losing their coverage

00:07:39if these tax credits are allowed to expire

00:07:42if we don't do our work,

00:07:44if we're more focused on the wealthiest of the wealthy

00:07:47rather than the concerns of ordinary people.

00:07:50Senator Booker,

00:07:54should Democrats and Republicans

00:07:56come together to extend

00:07:57the premium tax credit

00:08:00for hardworking folk in New Jersey and in Georgia?

00:08:03What do you think?

00:08:05My easiest colleague question I've gotten

00:08:08over these 13 hours,

00:08:10yes, they should.

00:08:12I was talking in the health care section

00:08:15about while there's these big issues

00:08:17that we should be concerned about,

00:08:19$880 billion from Medicaid,

00:08:21all,

00:08:23cutting all of that out

00:08:24to give the wealthiest, as you said,

00:08:27God bless them,

00:08:29they don't need our help,

00:08:31they don't need more tax cuts,

00:08:33to give them tax cuts and explode the deficit.

00:08:35This is literally taking from working Americans

00:08:37the letters we read,

00:08:39the voices of Americans,

00:08:41the fear, the anguish,

00:08:43the hurt, the worry,

00:08:45people who were suffering from Parkinson's,

00:08:47who had children with disabilities,

00:08:49who had elder parents living with them,

00:08:51so many people telling them

00:08:52that $880 billion they were averse to,

00:08:54that their whole financial well-being

00:08:56was hanging on a thread

00:08:58and just cutting the transportation programs involved.

00:09:00But I said while all that was going on,

00:09:02the Trump administration was still doing other things

00:09:04to attack ACA enrollment,

00:09:06to attack the tax credits

00:09:08that people are relying on

00:09:10doing other things to drive up costs.

00:09:12I know some of my colleagues

00:09:14who are on the floor, like Amy Klobuchar,

00:09:16we've centered the lowering of prescription drug costs,

00:09:18and he is doing things to drive

00:09:19out-of-pocket costs up.

00:09:26There's a cruelty in that.

00:09:30And I tend to still be standing at noon

00:09:32when we have to pause in the Senate

00:09:34for the pledge and the prayer.

00:09:37And, Pastor, I want to talk to you

00:09:39in the way that you talked to me last night.

00:09:43I called my brother,

00:09:45I called my friend and told him I was doing this,

00:09:46and Warnock shifts gears a lot in my life.

00:09:49Sometimes he's my colleague,

00:09:51sometimes he's my brother.

00:09:53Sometimes we talk about the state

00:09:55of two unmarried guys in the Senate.

00:09:58I don't mean to put you on blast, sir, but...

00:10:01The bald-headed caucus.

00:10:03The bald-headed caucus.

00:10:05But the one time you shift those gears

00:10:07into being my pastor and my friend,

00:10:09we prayed together last night,

00:10:12and most Americans I talk to

00:10:14and most Americans identify in our faith,

00:10:17Christian faith.

00:10:19And you and I know,

00:10:21I would yield for you to ask a question,

00:10:25but I'm yielding just to have you

00:10:27talk about Matthew 25.

00:10:31I'm a Matthew 25 Christian.

00:10:33You and I both.

00:10:34That's what we hold in common.

00:10:36And it's a long chapter,

00:10:38but the section we're talking about,

00:10:40in Matthew 25,

00:10:42Jesus says,

00:10:43I was hungry and you fed me.

00:10:46I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.

00:10:53I was sick.

00:10:55What were you?

00:10:57I was in prison,

00:10:59and you came to visit me and someone asked,

00:11:01Lord, when were you sick?

00:11:03When were you in prison?

00:11:05When were you an undocumented immigrant?

00:11:08Yes, yes.

00:11:10And the answer comes,

00:11:11inasmuch as you've done it to the least of these,

00:11:14you've done it also unto me.

00:11:17Another part of that text says,

00:11:19and when you don't do it for the least of these,

00:11:21you don't do it for me.

00:11:23The scripture says that the one who gives to the poor

00:11:26lenders to the Lord.

00:11:28This is holy work.

00:11:30Sir, my friend,

00:11:32I don't understand how a nation

00:11:34could allow a president to be so cruel

00:11:37that he would take away health care

00:11:38from people struggling with children

00:11:40that are facing the worst of health challenges.

00:11:43People who have a spouse,

00:11:45like the person who wrote me.

00:11:47No, it wasn't a spouse.

00:11:49She wrote me herself.

00:11:51She had Parkinson's.

00:11:53I got upset because that's how my father died,

00:11:55and I watched for year after year after year

00:11:57how it affected my family,

00:11:59how it demanded from my mother,

00:12:01how it cost thousands of dollars for his care,

00:12:03and thank God we had the privilege,

00:12:05but this person was writing

00:12:06to say that kind of cruelty.

00:12:08How could a nation

00:12:10with a majority of its people

00:12:12or people of faith,

00:12:14be they Muslims or Jain or Baha'i or Hindu or Jewish,

00:12:17how can the central precept of our country,

00:12:20founded on principles

00:12:22that are reflected in the good book,

00:12:24how could we say

00:12:27that we should cut health care

00:12:29from the sick and the needy

00:12:32to give bigger tax cuts to Elon Musk?

00:12:37I will yield to you, my brother,

00:12:39while retaining the floor.

00:12:41You know, this is the reason

00:12:43why every Sunday and every weekend

00:12:46when I leave here,

00:12:48I return not only to Georgia,

00:12:50but I return to my pulpit,

00:12:52and some folk ask,

00:12:54well, why do you continue

00:12:56to lead Ebenezer Church?

00:12:58I return to my pulpit every Sunday

00:13:00because notwithstanding wonderful people like you,

00:13:02I don't want to spend all my time

00:13:04talking to politicians.

00:13:06So I want to connect

00:13:08and check in with ordinary folks

00:13:10because I was focused

00:13:12on this health care issue

00:13:14long before I came to the Congress.

00:13:17Dr. King said

00:13:19that of all the injustices,

00:13:21inequality in health care,

00:13:23he said, is the most shocking

00:13:25and the most inhumane.

00:13:27I read that last night, Pastor.

00:13:29The most shocking and the most inhumane.

00:13:31And it's the reason why,

00:13:33as a pastor inspired by Dr. King,

00:13:36leading the congregation

00:13:38that Dr. King led,

00:13:40way back in 2014,

00:13:43when the Affordable Care Act was passed,

00:13:46were you here?

00:13:48You came after.

00:13:49I came after.

00:13:51You came right after that.

00:13:53I got arrested

00:13:55in the governor's office in Georgia

00:13:58fighting for health care.

00:14:01I didn't know you were a two-time arrestee, man.

00:14:03I got a long record, brother.

00:14:04But all for good trouble.

00:14:06All for good trouble.

00:14:08Good trouble.

00:14:10And we had a 1960 sit-in

00:14:13in the governor's office.

00:14:15Waves of us got arrested.

00:14:17They arrested one wave

00:14:19and then another wave came

00:14:21and another wave came.

00:14:23And we were trying to get Georgia

00:14:25to expand Medicaid.

00:14:27Yes, I remember that.

00:14:29We had passed the Affordable Care Act here,

00:14:31but Georgia was digging in its heels

00:14:32and said, no, we're not going to expand Medicaid.

00:14:35And so when I got here,

00:14:39Senator Klobuchar,

00:14:41I made it a priority of mine

00:14:43to get incentives

00:14:46for Georgia

00:14:48to expand Medicaid.

00:14:50And you remember, I went to our caucus.

00:14:52Yes.

00:14:54And I said, look,

00:14:56Georgia and about 9,

00:14:58then 10 other states have not expanded.

00:15:00They should have done it a long time ago.

00:15:02Make it even easier for them.

00:15:04And as a freshman senator,

00:15:07I was able to convince our caucus

00:15:10to give $14.5 billion

00:15:14for non-expansion states,

00:15:16which includes $2 billion

00:15:18just for Georgia

00:15:20to incentivize Medicaid expansion.

00:15:22Why?

00:15:23So that working people in the gap,

00:15:25people who literally go to work every day

00:15:27can get health care.

00:15:29Georgia has left that $2 billion

00:15:30sitting on the table

00:15:32and almost 600,000 Georgians in the gap.

00:15:36The governor's plan has literally

00:15:40enrolled a whopping 6,500 people

00:15:47in health care.

00:15:49Well, we've got nearly 600,000 people in the gap.

00:15:53And this is not theoretical stuff.

00:15:56Let me...

00:15:58Every time I talk about this,

00:16:00I have to talk about Heather Payne.

00:16:03Because Heather Payne

00:16:05is a resident of Dalton, Georgia.

00:16:07She spent her career taking care of others.

00:16:10She's a traveling nurse.

00:16:12Heather worked throughout COVID

00:16:14as an ER and labor and delivery nurse.

00:16:17Yet often she did not have health care coverage herself

00:16:20because she fell into the health care coverage gap.

00:16:23Sometimes she had health insurance coverage.

00:16:25Sometimes she didn't.

00:16:27She made too much money to qualify for Medicaid,

00:16:30but the only coverage options available to her

00:16:33were unaffordable,

00:16:35costing anywhere between $500 and $1,000 a month.

00:16:38And so about two and a half years ago,

00:16:40Heather Payne, a traveling nurse,

00:16:44noticed that something was wrong in her body.

00:16:49And even though she noticed that something was wrong,

00:16:53Senator Klobuchar,

00:16:55she literally had to wait for months

00:16:57before she could see a doctor to save up the money.

00:17:03And then she finally went and saw a neurologist

00:17:06who said,

00:17:08you know what, you've actually had a series of small strokes.

00:17:14And even after getting that diagnosis,

00:17:17she had to put off serious medical procedures

00:17:20because she cannot work as an ER nurse anymore

00:17:23and is still waiting to get approved for disability

00:17:25so she can get Medicaid coverage.

00:17:28And so this nurse who has spent her whole life

00:17:33healing other people

00:17:35can't get health care.

00:17:39I think it's wrong that in the richest country on earth,

00:17:42we don't want to lower the cost of health care

00:17:45for people who are working hard in our communities every day,

00:17:48literally keeping us healthy.

00:17:50I'm going to ask you another softball question,

00:17:52Senator Booker.

00:17:53Should people like my friend Heather Payne

00:17:56have access to affordable health care?

00:17:59Yes.

00:18:01In the first few months of the Trump administration,

00:18:04it's been clear that this administration

00:18:06is not working for ordinary people.

00:18:08Just to try to stay in the parliamentary alone,

00:18:11I yield for a question while retaining the floor.

00:18:13I yield for another question while retaining the floor.

00:18:17The administration is working for billionaires.

00:18:19They're working for people like Elon Musk.

00:18:29Health care is a human right.

00:18:34Health care is basic.

00:18:37And while we're speaking about health,

00:18:39we've got to cheer on our federal workers

00:18:42who are keeping us healthy.

00:18:45And there are folks in this administration

00:18:46who say that they want to make them the villains.

00:18:49That's what Russell Vogt said,

00:18:52that when they wake up in the morning,

00:18:54we want them to not go to work.

00:18:56Our federal workers,

00:18:58because they are increasingly viewed,

00:19:00he said, as villains.

00:19:02I got news for Russell Vogt.

00:19:04The people who staff our VA hospitals are not villains.

00:19:07The people who keep our food safe

00:19:09and our water clean are not villains.

00:19:11The people who keep our military bases operating

00:19:13are not villains.

00:19:15And so we stand with them in this moment

00:19:18because they are indeed keeping all of us healthy.

00:19:28And so in closing,

00:19:30and nobody believes a Baptist preacher

00:19:32when he says in closing.

00:19:38Let me say that

00:19:40again, you're doing holy work here, brother,

00:19:43by holding this floor.

00:19:46You are literally holding vigil for our nation.

00:19:52We are beset by the politics of fear.

00:19:58The scripture tells us that perfect love

00:20:00casts out all fear.

00:20:03We are witnessing again, this ugly game,

00:20:05the politics of us and them.

00:20:11And there are a lot of folk who,

00:20:13because so much of what has been going on in our nation

00:20:17across Republican and Democratic administrations,

00:20:20let's be honest,

00:20:22has not been working for ordinary people.

00:20:25And that's not true.

00:20:27That's not true.

00:20:29That's not true.

00:20:31And the gap between the haves and the have nots

00:20:33has gotten larger and larger.

00:20:35And when people are vulnerable,

00:20:37sometimes they give in to the politics of fear,

00:20:40somebody telling them that they've got all the answers.

00:20:43And so we saw this in this last cycle.

00:20:45We're seeing it in this moment in our country,

00:20:48the politics of us and them.

00:20:50And sadly, hardworking, working class people

00:20:55are waking up this morning

00:20:57and they're discovering

00:20:58that they thought they were in the us.

00:21:04And they're discovering that they're in the them,

00:21:06that the them is larger than they thought.

00:21:12And so we've got a whole vigil for each other,

00:21:14for workers,

00:21:16for women,

00:21:18for immigrants,

00:21:21for immigrant families,

00:21:24for our sisters and our brothers,

00:21:26red, yellow, blue,

00:21:28yellow, brown, black, and white,

00:21:30for the aging who need social security,

00:21:33for the working poor who need Medicaid,

00:21:39for those who are seeking asylum

00:21:41and they just need a dignified path,

00:21:43for those who've been working here for years

00:21:45and they need a dignified path to citizenship,

00:21:48we've got a whole vigil for each other.

00:21:54And so thank you for this work.

00:21:59This is not the end but the beginning.

00:22:04The struggle continues.

00:22:06Dr. King said that the true measure of a person

00:22:09is not where he stands

00:22:11in moments of comfort and convenience,

00:22:15but where he stands in moments

00:22:17of challenge and controversy.

00:22:22So thank you for praying for this nation

00:22:24with your lips and with your legs.

00:22:26And I'm going to ask you one last question.

00:22:28Do you intend to keep praying?

00:22:30Amen, hallelujah, yes I do.

00:22:32Thank you for that question.

00:22:34I know there's going to be a question coming to me.

00:22:36I just want to say pray Isaiah 40, 31 for me.

00:22:39I think you know what that is.

00:22:41Got it.

00:22:43I'm going to ordain this man.

00:22:45All right.

00:22:56Article I was going to start reading.

00:23:00Senator Booker.

00:23:04I yield for a question while retaining the floor.

00:23:07If the senator has a question,

00:23:09I yield for a question while retaining the floor.

00:23:11So you'll yield for a question?

00:23:13Yes, while retaining the floor, yes.

00:23:15Very good.

00:23:17I want to, first of all, thank you.

00:23:19Thank you for waking us up this morning, literally.

00:23:21All night, as Reverend Warnock would tell you,

00:23:23I know you were in here doing your work,

00:23:25but it was rainy.

00:23:27There was thunder.

00:23:29It was really bad.

00:23:31And then when we woke up this morning,

00:23:33you were still talking.

00:23:35You were still talking and the sun was out

00:23:37and you're giving people hope.

00:23:39When I think about what you're doing,

00:23:41you're like an alarm clock right now for this country.

00:23:44And slowly but surely, we've seen people realize

00:23:48this isn't just a bunch of campaign rhetoric

00:23:50that's going on.

00:23:51This is actually happening.

00:23:53And people are stepping up.

00:23:55They're fighting it in the courts.

00:23:57They're fighting it in Congress

00:24:00with what you're doing today,

00:24:02with what, as you know, last week

00:24:04when we got the horrible news

00:24:06that the defense secretary of the United States

00:24:08was using an unauthorized line

00:24:12to just talk with his friends

00:24:14like he was spiking a football,

00:24:16about putting the lives of our service members at risk.

00:24:19People stood up.

00:24:21Democrats stood up.

00:24:23They asked the tough questions.

00:24:25And one of the things that bothers me

00:24:28is that it is so hard to see your way out of it.

00:24:32A lot of people feel like we're just wallowing right now.

00:24:35But what you're telling us today

00:24:37is there is another way.

00:24:39Because if we just wallow,

00:24:41these guys are going to continue to cut kids' cancer treatment.

00:24:43If we just wallow,

00:24:45they're going to cut Medicaid

00:24:47when one out of two seniors

00:24:49in my state

00:24:51who are in assisted living

00:24:53are on Medicaid.

00:24:55Or they're going to continue to

00:24:57mess around with these tariffs

00:24:59which really are national sales tax,

00:25:01something like $2,500

00:25:03for every single family.

00:25:05They are going to continue to be callous.

00:25:08I had someone say to me last night,

00:25:10do they care?

00:25:12Do they care when those

00:25:14U.S. aid workers

00:25:16who devoted their lives

00:25:17to feeding the hungry around the world,

00:25:20when they have to stand outside their building

00:25:22and watch them literally take

00:25:24the name of their life's work

00:25:26off the brick on that building?

00:25:29Do they care?

00:25:31And one of the things that we have done,

00:25:33that Democrats have done,

00:25:35has stood up.

00:25:37And what is coming upon us

00:25:39in these next few weeks

00:25:41is this tax bill

00:25:43that basically will give billionaires tax cuts

00:25:46on the backs of regular people,

00:25:48ransacking the government,

00:25:50firing veterans,

00:25:52messing around with Social Security.

00:25:54I had a guy tell me that he spent

00:25:56three days after his wife died,

00:25:58a Minnesota reverend,

00:26:00three days just trying to figure out

00:26:03how he gets the death benefit.

00:26:05Why did this thing check show up at his door?

00:26:08He's trying to do the right thing.

00:26:10He calls, he gets put on hold.

00:26:12He sends an email, no one writes him back.

00:26:13He drives into Brainerd, Minnesota,

00:26:1530-mile drive.

00:26:17He's like 80 years old.

00:26:19He drives in there,

00:26:21and then they finally help him.

00:26:23Then he gets back and something else goes wrong.

00:26:25Then he tries to call again.

00:26:27He finally ends up at our door,

00:26:29at our office, and we figure it out for him.

00:26:31There's 70-some million people

00:26:33that that's going to happen to.

00:26:35These guys don't get their act together.

00:26:37So it's a real good question,

00:26:39do they care?

00:26:41But when we have this tax bill

00:26:43in the next few weeks,

00:26:45I think people got to understand

00:26:47what's going on.

00:26:49They have to understand

00:26:51that even in the short,

00:26:53the thing, the House budget that came out

00:26:55that'll be the subject of this,

00:26:57it's over two trillion tax cuts

00:26:59for people making over $400,000 a year

00:27:01like Elon Musk that don't need it.

00:27:03And so there's actually a way to stop it

00:27:06that's in the hands of the Republicans right now.

00:27:09If just two or three of them

00:27:11stood up on the House floor

00:27:13for what you did,

00:27:15Senator Booker, who they said no,

00:27:17and if four of them

00:27:19in the United States Senate,

00:27:21four of them stood up,

00:27:23four senators stood up,

00:27:26then we could have the discussion about,

00:27:29okay, let's make government work better,

00:27:31we're all in,

00:27:33but let's not do it on the backs of regular people.

00:27:35Let's not do it on the backs of kids

00:27:37that are in cancer research

00:27:39or veterans who are trying to simply

00:27:41get their well-earned benefits

00:27:43on the battlefield.

00:27:45Or let's not do it on the backs

00:27:47of farmers in Minnesota and Georgia

00:27:50who simply have these small farms

00:27:52and they're trying to get by

00:27:54and then suddenly, wham,

00:27:56Donald Trump decides shock and awe,

00:27:58let's do a tariff and let's get mad

00:28:00at all our allies across the country like Canada.

00:28:02Oh, that's a good idea.

00:28:04Those are the things that they're doing.

00:28:06So my question of you is,

00:28:08how many people need to stand up

00:28:10in the U.S. Senate to make this happen?

00:28:11I know we're all standing up,

00:28:13but tell me how many people

00:28:15can stand up on the other side?

00:28:17If they stood up and joined you,

00:28:19what a difference it would make.

00:28:21So I want to thank the Senator for the question

00:28:23and when I think of people

00:28:25who stand in adversity,

00:28:27I still see you standing in a snowstorm.

00:28:29And the strength that you've had

00:28:31is you've stood up to fight

00:28:33for affordable health care,

00:28:35stood up and fought for affordable prescription drugs,

00:28:37stood up and fought for farmers

00:28:39and for police officers

00:28:41who are that kind of person

00:28:43that gives me strength

00:28:45that I've learned so much from.

00:28:47And you have brought this issue up,

00:28:49which you just said on the floor

00:28:51to let you know this is not performative for her.

00:28:53She has brought this up

00:28:55in our small meetings with Chuck Schumer.

00:28:57She has brought this up in our caucus meetings.

00:28:59I've seen her talk about it in her own state.

00:29:01This question of what will it take?

00:29:03And here's something that pains me to hear,

00:29:06that Elon Musk is calling Republicans up

00:29:08and saying if you take this stand,

00:29:09I'm going to put $100 million

00:29:11in a primary against you.

00:29:13That they are bullying people

00:29:15who dare to stand up and say

00:29:17maybe this appointee

00:29:19is not the most qualified person you could find

00:29:21to lead this cabinet position

00:29:23or maybe it's wrong

00:29:25to cut this agency

00:29:27that we together created in Congress.

00:29:29There are people who are

00:29:31asking those questions,

00:29:33but we have seen them get dragged through X,

00:29:35mob attacked when it comes to

00:29:37their virtual presence

00:29:39and threatened to be primaried.

00:29:41But we know

00:29:43because you're somebody

00:29:45that works on both sides of the aisle

00:29:47that there are really good people of conscience

00:29:49on both sides of the aisle

00:29:51and as the great pastor said,

00:29:53there are enough sins in this body

00:29:55to go around for all of us.

00:29:57But this is not a partisan moment.

00:29:59It is a moral moment.

00:30:01This is not a left or right moment.

00:30:03It is a right or wrong moment.

00:30:05We have a president

00:30:07that is shredding

00:30:09the agencies that Americans

00:30:11who are struggling are relying on.

00:30:13Working people

00:30:15that over the last 71 days

00:30:17are finding higher prices,

00:30:19that are finding housing prices go up.

00:30:21Farmers in my state too,

00:30:23it's our fourth largest industry.

00:30:26I've had farmers come to me

00:30:28as far away as Texas

00:30:30and tell me that they're clawing back

00:30:32these contracts that we've already relied on

00:30:34to buy things already

00:30:36and now you're putting me in a situation

00:30:37where on the farm

00:30:41you see veterans

00:30:43who come to our offices.

00:30:45I know they come to your office,

00:30:47Senator Klobuchar.

00:30:49You're a senator from Minnesota

00:30:51but you are a national figure

00:30:53so I know they're coming to your office

00:30:55and they're saying things to me like

00:30:57I'm a veteran.

00:30:59I could go do other jobs.

00:31:01I wanted to work on suicide prevention

00:31:03and mental health issues

00:31:05and I'm being fired?

00:31:07And you've said it right.

00:31:09I've heard you say it in private.

00:31:11I've heard you say it in public.

00:31:13I know it irks you

00:31:15because you're one of these

00:31:17sort of balanced people.

00:31:19Okay, we have a big deficit.

00:31:21That is a real problem.

00:31:23Maybe they're trying to lower the deficit

00:31:25but they're not.

00:31:26That's the irony.

00:31:27They're not.

00:31:29They're about to explode

00:31:31trillions of dollars

00:31:33most of which disproportionately

00:31:35will go to the wealthiest people

00:31:37until your question to me

00:31:39is spot on.

00:31:41It's spot on

00:31:43and it's why I am standing here

00:31:45right now

00:31:47at the top of another hour

00:31:49because of what you are saying

00:31:51relentlessly, persistently

00:31:53and unyieldingly.

00:31:55Why are we hurting Americans

00:31:57from our farmers?

00:31:59We just talked about rural hospitals here

00:32:01for about 20-30 minutes

00:32:03and what the threats are to them.

00:32:05We talked about rural social security centers

00:32:07and the threats that are to them.

00:32:09We talked about communities

00:32:11all over our country

00:32:12who are being hurt

00:32:13and your question,

00:32:14why to give tax breaks

00:32:16that will disproportionately go

00:32:18to the wealthiest Americans

00:32:20who you and I are not those people

00:32:22that demonize wealth.

00:32:23We don't demonize success.

00:32:25I want more people to start businesses.

00:32:27I want more people to dream

00:32:29of moving on up like the Jeffersons.

00:32:31I want more people to have that vision.

00:32:33I am not one of those people

00:32:35that are going to be mad at you

00:32:37for not being very successful.

00:32:39I am going to be one of those people

00:32:41that says,

00:32:43you don't need more tax cuts

00:32:45and we as a society

00:32:47have an obligation to each other

00:32:49to those farmers,

00:32:51to those rural folks,

00:32:53to the cops I stood with

00:32:55at the funeral of one of their colleagues

00:32:57in Newark two weeks ago.

00:32:59We have an obligation to them

00:33:01to help them get equipment

00:33:03to protect themselves.

00:33:04This country cannot do

00:33:07something that is so monumentally,

00:33:10fiscally irresponsible.

00:33:12Who was the one person in the House

00:33:14that voted,

00:33:15a Republican that voted against it,

00:33:16a guy named Massey?

00:33:17And I watched it.

00:33:18I had to smile and laugh

00:33:20because he said the quiet part out loud.

00:33:22He's sitting there looking at something.

00:33:23I saw him in an interview

00:33:24and he says,

00:33:25by their own numbers,

00:33:26this doesn't add up.

00:33:28They're adding to our deficit

00:33:30by the trillions.

00:33:31He stayed true to his principles.

00:33:32What happened to all those

00:33:34mighty deficit hawks

00:33:35in the House of Representatives

00:33:37on the Republican side

00:33:38that caved to the pressure

00:33:40of a president?

00:33:44I'm so happy you asked it

00:33:45in the right fashion.

00:33:48I yield for a question

00:33:49while retaining the floor.

00:33:52Very good.

00:33:53That was perfect.

00:33:54So I think one of the things

00:33:56you talked about

00:33:57was just this deficit

00:33:58and what's happening

00:33:59and what we're seeing

00:34:00with their proposal right now

00:34:01that's going to come

00:34:02right before us.

00:34:04By some estimates,

00:34:05it's going to add

00:34:06$37 trillion.

00:34:08$37 trillion in 30 years

00:34:10as we go ahead.

00:34:12I mean,

00:34:13I literally cannot believe that

00:34:15when, in fact,

00:34:16we could step back now

00:34:18and we could say,

00:34:19what things can we do?

00:34:21What things can we do

00:34:22on the tax code?

00:34:23Because there's a whole lot

00:34:24of things we can do

00:34:25to strengthen Social Security,

00:34:27strengthen what we have

00:34:28in our government.

00:34:29And what really,

00:34:30when you step back

00:34:31and look at the economy,

00:34:33and I heard this the other day

00:34:34on a business channel,

00:34:36just about a month or two ago,

00:34:37man, we were coming out strong.

00:34:40We are a country

00:34:41that came out of the pandemic

00:34:43in a stronger way

00:34:44than so many other countries

00:34:45did around the world.

00:34:46We're ready.

00:34:47Inflation was at least steady

00:34:49and it was starting

00:34:50to come down here.

00:34:51And now all of a sudden,

00:34:52we see chaos is up.

00:34:54Corruption is up.

00:34:55And yes, costs are up.

00:34:56Ask anyone at the grocery store.

00:34:59And one of the problems

00:35:00when you look at

00:35:01what we could be doing

00:35:02to address the debt

00:35:03is that the proposals out there

00:35:05are just going to make it worse.

00:35:07That means more interest payments.

00:35:10That means more interest payments

00:35:11on the backs of regular people.

00:35:12And that means less we can do

00:35:14to help them

00:35:15as we look at what's happening

00:35:16right now.

00:35:17And one of the things

00:35:18you raised, Senator Booker,

00:35:19which I appreciate

00:35:20how much you know about this,

00:35:21is just this

00:35:22prescription drug negotiation

00:35:24and Medicare.

00:35:25So what do we finally do?

00:35:27So decades before you

00:35:29or Senator Murphy

00:35:30or Senator Warnock

00:35:32got here,

00:35:33before I got to this place,

00:35:35they made a sweetheart deal

00:35:37with the pharmaceutical companies

00:35:38and they actually baked in

00:35:40so that they didn't have

00:35:41to negotiate prices

00:35:42for 73 million people

00:35:44and anything.

00:35:46They could just charge

00:35:47whatever they wanted

00:35:48for these prescription drugs.

00:35:49What happens?

00:35:50Well, guess what happens.

00:35:51Suddenly, the drugs for our seniors

00:35:52are two to one,

00:35:53what they are in places like Canada,

00:35:55our neighbor, our friend.

00:35:57Two to one,

00:35:58what they are over there.

00:35:59You got people driving up

00:36:00to Canada from Minnesota

00:36:01because we can see Canada

00:36:03from our porch.

00:36:04And they are like going up there

00:36:05trying to get less expensive drugs.

00:36:07And then they figure,

00:36:09what's going on?

00:36:10So a whole bunch of people

00:36:11started to say,

00:36:12let's look at this.

00:36:13It took years to get this done.

00:36:14Finally, finally,

00:36:16we passed a bill

00:36:17that said they've got to negotiate.

00:36:20And we took the first 10 drugs.

00:36:22And the last administration

00:36:24got to pick those drugs.

00:36:25And they picked blockbuster drugs.

00:36:27Drugs like Eliquis.

00:36:29Drugs like Xarelto.

00:36:31Drugs like Januvia.

00:36:32Jardians, I memorized them

00:36:33because I can always find people

00:36:34that take them.

00:36:35I don't make them raise their hand

00:36:36and say they take them.

00:36:37But these are blockbuster drugs.

00:36:39And they reduced the price

00:36:40by like 70% for our seniors.

00:36:42That's going to kick in soon,

00:36:44but not if this administration

00:36:46messes it up.

00:36:47And so we have seen

00:36:48from everything from, you know,

00:36:50giving signal lines

00:36:51about secret battle plans

00:36:53to reporters

00:36:54to deciding they're going to

00:36:56like shut down

00:36:57the people that worked on

00:36:59protecting our nuclear facilities.

00:37:01Oops, we made a mistake.

00:37:02Or how about when they said,

00:37:04okay, we want to do something

00:37:05about avian flu,

00:37:06but we're going to fire

00:37:07all the people that work at OPE.

00:37:08No, we're going to fire them back.

00:37:09We're going to hire them back.

00:37:10That's what's been going on right now.

00:37:12So when I look at this

00:37:13really complicated

00:37:14prescription drug negotiation

00:37:16where you're taking on

00:37:18some of the biggest companies

00:37:19in the world,

00:37:20I say to myself,

00:37:21okay, so our Secretary of Health,

00:37:24Kennedy,

00:37:25he won't even agree

00:37:27when he's asked under oath

00:37:28if he's going to keep this up.

00:37:30They fired a bunch of people

00:37:31that would work on it.

00:37:33They haven't shown

00:37:34they're going to keep

00:37:35this negotiation going.

00:37:36Meanwhile, we've got,

00:37:37put in place a $2,000 cap

00:37:39for our seniors

00:37:40out-of-pocket on drug costs

00:37:41under Medicare.

00:37:42That's really good.

00:37:43We put in place

00:37:44that insulin limit

00:37:45on 35 bucks a month,

00:37:46and we thank Reverend Warnock,

00:37:48and we thank you,

00:37:49Senator Booker,

00:37:50Senator Murphy,

00:37:51everyone that worked on that.

00:37:52We got that in place.

00:37:53So now we've got the big thing,

00:37:55which is the negotiation

00:37:56of all these drugs

00:37:57because 15 more drugs

00:37:58are coming their way

00:37:59for negotiation.

00:38:00Again, blockbuster drugs,

00:38:01ozempic, blockbuster drugs.

00:38:03Those drugs are coming their way

00:38:05for negotiation,

00:38:06but they have not committed

00:38:07to do that.

00:38:08They have not committed

00:38:09to do that.

00:38:10And even if they did commit

00:38:12to do it,

00:38:13do they even have the people

00:38:14to negotiate

00:38:15to take on these major companies?

00:38:17So my question of you,

00:38:19Senator Booker,

00:38:20after being up all night,

00:38:22after getting us

00:38:23through the storm of last night

00:38:24and into the bright sunshine

00:38:26of today,

00:38:27after holding the floor

00:38:28all this time,

00:38:29I can't even imagine

00:38:30how much your feet must hurt,

00:38:31but those feet hurting

00:38:32is nothing compared,

00:38:33which is why you're doing it,

00:38:34to how the rest of the people

00:38:35in this country right now

00:38:36feel and how they're hurting.

00:38:38My question is,

00:38:40how can they move forward

00:38:42without trying to save money

00:38:43for the people of this country?

00:38:45Because what I see happening,

00:38:46and there's so many signs,

00:38:48you see it every single day,

00:38:49when they are getting rid

00:38:50of some of these people

00:38:51that work on it,

00:38:52then you're not going

00:38:53to be able to get

00:38:54the Social Security

00:38:55for my friend that I met

00:38:56from Cross Lake, Minnesota.

00:38:57Then you're not going

00:38:58to be able to get

00:38:59that stuff done.

00:39:00But I think as we look

00:39:01at those cuts,

00:39:02it's not just the word cuts.

00:39:04What effect does it have

00:39:05on real people

00:39:07when they can't get

00:39:08their services,

00:39:09when our veterans,

00:39:10who also have complex ways

00:39:12that they've got to deal

00:39:13with the government,

00:39:14when they have no one

00:39:15answering the phone,

00:39:16when they've gotten rid

00:39:17of veterans

00:39:18who've actually done the work.

00:39:19So my question here is,

00:39:21for people that like

00:39:22translate this into

00:39:23the real world,

00:39:24is what is all this

00:39:25going to mean for people

00:39:26in the real world,

00:39:27what they're doing right now?

00:39:29Thank you for the question,

00:39:30Senator Klobuchar.

00:39:31I love that you're bringing back

00:39:32to real people

00:39:33and what effect it's having.

00:39:35And what you're spelling out

00:39:36is something

00:39:37that's really important.

00:39:38There's a strategy

00:39:39that they have expressly said.

00:39:40They want to overwhelm you.

00:39:42Not us.

00:39:43They want to overwhelm

00:39:44the American people.

00:39:47They want to flood the zone.

00:39:50And so,

00:39:51I see a whole bunch

00:39:52of doing things

00:39:53to distract us.

00:39:54Gulf of Mexico,

00:39:56Gulf of America,

00:39:57Greenland,

00:39:58all these things

00:39:59to try to whip us up

00:40:01and not pay attention

00:40:03to what most Americans

00:40:04are concerned with,

00:40:05is can they make ends meet?

00:40:08Even the big

00:40:09reconciliation bill

00:40:10that they're going

00:40:11to try to do,

00:40:12that we have to find a way

00:40:13to appeal to a small group

00:40:15of Republican Congress people

00:40:17to stop

00:40:19of cutting $880 million

00:40:21out of Medicaid.

00:40:22We went through in great detail

00:40:23at length last night

00:40:25why that's bad.

00:40:26But you are pointing to something

00:40:27even more insidious.

00:40:28As that big thing is going on,

00:40:30they actually are cutting

00:40:32the support

00:40:33to get more people

00:40:34signed up with the ACA.

00:40:35Already happened.

00:40:36Make it harder

00:40:37to sign up for the ACA.

00:40:38They've already cut

00:40:39the tax credits

00:40:40that are helping people

00:40:41that are in the ACA

00:40:44get resources

00:40:45to help with their healthcare costs.

00:40:46They're going after these things.

00:40:48Here's one

00:40:49that you know really well.

00:40:50They're going after,

00:40:52as we talk about

00:40:54all of these parents

00:40:55struggling with children

00:40:56and family members

00:40:57with chronic diseases,

00:40:59we know one of the things

00:41:00to help people

00:41:01with chronic diseases

00:41:02is having access

00:41:03to fresh healthy foods,

00:41:04but they're cutting access

00:41:05to that for our kids

00:41:06going to school.

00:41:08This administration

00:41:10has not only overseen

00:41:12in 71 days

00:41:13a rise in inflation,

00:41:14a rise in the cost of groceries,

00:41:16a lowering of people's 401Ks

00:41:18with the stock market going down.

00:41:20It's not only bringing economic chaos,

00:41:22but they are already hurting people

00:41:25on their basic delivery

00:41:26of their services.

00:41:27From taking thousands of jobs

00:41:29out of Social Security,

00:41:30making it harder for people

00:41:32who have some problem

00:41:33to get it solved

00:41:34to the VA,

00:41:39to the ACA.

00:41:43Does the Senator yield for a question?

00:41:47I will definitely yield

00:41:49for a question

00:41:50while retaining the floor.

00:41:52I was thinking

00:41:53as you talked about

00:41:54the Affordable Care Act

00:41:55and all the work

00:41:56that went into it

00:41:57and what came out of it,

00:41:58I was remembering

00:41:59the constant attempts

00:42:00to repeal that bill.

00:42:02I was remembering

00:42:03when Senator John McCain,

00:42:04I think you were here for this,

00:42:06came in and kind of

00:42:07did the unexpected, right?

00:42:09He went in here,

00:42:10he bucked his party,

00:42:12and he said no.

00:42:14He didn't agree

00:42:16with Donald Trump about this.

00:42:18He didn't agree

00:42:19with his leaders on this.

00:42:21He did what he thought was right.

00:42:24My issue is that

00:42:26we all have those moments

00:42:27where we have to make decisions

00:42:29about what we think is right.

00:42:32I think about Donald Trump,

00:42:34and he is,

00:42:35just now,

00:42:36just this week,

00:42:37he said he wanted to

00:42:38violate the Constitution

00:42:39which he says

00:42:40practically every single hour.

00:42:42He said that he would

00:42:43try to serve another term,

00:42:45that he would do this,

00:42:46he would do that.

00:42:47He is literally treating

00:42:48this presidency

00:42:50like he's the king.

00:42:51I guess Elon Musk

00:42:52is thus the court jester

00:42:54at his side,

00:42:55or the White House IT guy.

00:42:57The point is

00:42:59that he's treating this

00:43:00like a king,

00:43:01and you serve

00:43:02on the Judiciary Committee.

00:43:04You are a student of history.

00:43:07You're also a scholar

00:43:09in terms of understanding

00:43:11this government

00:43:12and how it works.

00:43:13I think one of the things

00:43:14that's most unsettling

00:43:16for people

00:43:17that they just don't understand

00:43:20is how you could

00:43:21have a president in place

00:43:23that doesn't respect

00:43:24that democracy.

00:43:25I remember when we all gathered

00:43:27for the inauguration,

00:43:29and I had four minutes

00:43:31because of my job

00:43:32with the Rules Committee

00:43:33to address those gathered

00:43:36in that rotunda.

00:43:38I noted that our democracy

00:43:39can be a hot mess right now,

00:43:41but it's still the best form

00:43:42of government that we've got,

00:43:44that our democracy

00:43:46is truly our shelter

00:43:48in the storm.

00:43:49It's our shelter in the storm,

00:43:51to quote a great songwriter

00:43:53from the state of Minnesota.

00:43:54That the reason

00:43:55that we don't have,

00:43:56I know you may have

00:43:57a few songwriters from there,

00:43:59if the center could yield

00:44:01for one question,

00:44:02who is your best songwriter

00:44:03and singer

00:44:04from the state of New Jersey?

00:44:05Just to make clear,

00:44:07who is...

00:44:08Would you yield

00:44:09for a question from me?

00:44:11I will answer that question

00:44:14by avoiding it

00:44:15because in New Jersey

00:44:16there are so many

00:44:17great patron saints

00:44:18from the great Bon Jovi

00:44:19to the great Bruce Springsteen

00:44:20to the incredible Queen Latifah,

00:44:23the chairman of the board

00:44:24from New Jersey,

00:44:25the great Frank Sinatra.

00:44:26So I'm not going to pick.

00:44:28We have so many great singers,

00:44:30rappers like Redman.

00:44:31We are just a thriving state

00:44:34of Count Basie.

00:44:36There's just too many.

00:44:38I would not force you

00:44:39to do that.

00:44:40Of course it's Prince,

00:44:41I think, from your state.

00:44:42Prince and Bob Dylan,

00:44:43but that aside,

00:44:44I'm very impressed,

00:44:46Senator Booker,

00:44:47that after, what,

00:44:4812 hours now,

00:44:4913 hours,

00:44:50that you still are able

00:44:52to make sure

00:44:53that you mention

00:44:54every songwriter.

00:44:55But that aside,

00:44:56Bob Dylan once had

00:44:57that great line,

00:44:58shelter in the storm,

00:44:59our democracy's shelter

00:45:00in the storm.

00:45:01And then I noted that day

00:45:03that in some countries,

00:45:05presidential inaugurations,

00:45:06they're held in gilded palaces,

00:45:08not in the United States of America.

00:45:10In the United States of America,

00:45:11it's held in the people's house.

00:45:13That's what you're doing

00:45:14right now, Senator Booker,

00:45:15because the people's house

00:45:16is where the action should be.

00:45:18That's Article I.

00:45:19And the Constitution

00:45:20specifically says here,

00:45:22we have equal branches

00:45:23of government.

00:45:24And the final thing

00:45:25is that the power

00:45:26in that rotunda that day,

00:45:27and this is where we get

00:45:28into Donald Trump

00:45:29thinking he's king,

00:45:31the power in that rotunda

00:45:32didn't come from the people

00:45:33in there,

00:45:34it came from outside,

00:45:35came from the people.

00:45:36So that's why

00:45:37you see the people

00:45:38standing up right now.

00:45:39Our constituents

00:45:40going to these town halls,

00:45:42standing up,

00:45:43breaking the phone lines

00:45:44in the U.S. Senate,

00:45:45sending in the emails

00:45:46with their stories

00:45:47that we are able,

00:45:48that you've heard the senators

00:45:49and you have read

00:45:50on the Senate floor

00:45:51about things that have happened

00:45:52to your constituents.

00:45:54So that's the power

00:45:55from the outside.

00:45:56So the question

00:45:57that I ask of you

00:45:58is just tell me

00:46:01what you think

00:46:02people can do

00:46:03when you've got

00:46:04a president in there

00:46:05that, you know,

00:46:06he thinks he is king

00:46:07and he thinks

00:46:08that a democracy

00:46:09is just something

00:46:10that he can just

00:46:11shove aside

00:46:12and say whatever he wants

00:46:13and break whatever rule

00:46:15that people depend on,

00:46:16that they depend on

00:46:17to be able to vote,

00:46:18to be able to participate

00:46:20and have their case made.

00:46:22Tell me what you think.

00:46:23What's the answer to that?

00:46:24Thank you, Senator.

00:46:25I'll answer that

00:46:26and I see Ron Wyden

00:46:27has come to the floor

00:46:28who's, for both Amy and I,

00:46:30one of the chair people of,

00:46:33or at this point,

00:46:34ranking members

00:46:35of one of the great committees.

00:46:36To Amy Klobuchar's question,

00:46:39I read a lot of angry letters,

00:46:43people who were demanding of me

00:46:45to do something to stop them,

00:46:47do something different.

00:46:48Stand up, speak up, Senator.

00:46:50I'm afraid.

00:46:51Stand up, speak up, Senator.

00:46:52I'm so angry.

00:46:53Stand up, speak up, Senator.

00:46:55The services for my disabled child

00:46:56are threatened.

00:46:57Stand up, speak up.

00:46:59It's one of the reasons

00:47:00why I'm doing this,

00:47:01why my staff and I

00:47:02talked about this

00:47:03for so many days,

00:47:05to do something to show,

00:47:07to let our constituents know,

00:47:08to elevate their voices

00:47:10on the floor,

00:47:11to read their letters,

00:47:12to read their statements.

00:47:13Not just New Jerseyans,

00:47:14but like you,

00:47:15the hundreds and hundreds of people

00:47:16that are calling us

00:47:17from other states.

00:47:19But I am most moved

00:47:22by the letters

00:47:23who tell me about their pain

00:47:24or their challenges

00:47:26or their fears,

00:47:27but they end that question

00:47:28with your question.

00:47:30But I am here to help.

00:47:31Tell me how I can help.

00:47:33I am here to help.

00:47:34Tell me I can help.

00:47:35And you said it, Senator.

00:47:38I read the letter

00:47:39of John McCain last night,

00:47:41his letter explaining his vote.

00:47:43It was so beautiful.

00:47:44It was tough like he was.

00:47:45It was hard on the whole body.

00:47:48But he called to principles.

00:47:49Senator Schumer was here

00:47:51when I read it.

00:47:52It was eerie

00:47:53because he was describing

00:47:54what went wrong then,

00:47:55which is the same thing here,

00:47:56that we do need

00:47:57to make our country better.

00:47:58We do need to have

00:47:59a bolder vision for healthcare,

00:48:00a bolder vision

00:48:01for Social Security.

00:48:02We need to make them

00:48:03work for the people,

00:48:04but we're not doing it

00:48:05here in this body.

00:48:08And this man

00:48:09who's not acting like a president,

00:48:10but is trashing

00:48:11our constitutional traditions,

00:48:13violating our laws

00:48:15as he's getting tied up in court,

00:48:16but ignoring court orders,

00:48:17and when he gets a decision

00:48:18he doesn't like,

00:48:19he trashes,

00:48:20he trashes the judges so badly.

00:48:26That the Supreme Court

00:48:30itself finds

00:48:31that it has to go out

00:48:32and tell him to stop it.

00:48:36What stopped healthcare

00:48:38from being taken away

00:48:39in the last time

00:48:40wasn't the persuasive powers

00:48:41of anybody

00:48:44in this side

00:48:45of the political aisle

00:48:46in the Senate

00:48:47convincing anybody over there.

00:48:48I would like to think

00:48:49it was my eloquence

00:48:50with Lisa Murkowski.

00:48:51I would like to think

00:48:52it was my high-minded intellect

00:48:55that somehow

00:48:56it was damaged

00:48:58playing too much football,

00:48:59but that somehow

00:49:01I got a right argument

00:49:02to Susan Collins.

00:49:03That wasn't it.

00:49:04I'd like to think

00:49:05it was my ability

00:49:07to stand up

00:49:08to John McCain himself.

00:49:12No, none of that.

00:49:14It was the people.

00:49:16It was the people.

00:49:17You remember

00:49:18the little lobbyists

00:49:19in their wheelchairs

00:49:20rolling up to senators

00:49:22and speaking their hearts,

00:49:24telling them of their pain

00:49:25and their fear.

00:49:26It was people coming here

00:49:27and marching,

00:49:28people coming

00:49:29and flooding the calls

00:49:30like they're doing now,

00:49:32people writing letters,

00:49:33people marching,

00:49:34people in their states

00:49:36from all political spectrums

00:49:38coming in and saying

00:49:39this is wrong,

00:49:40this is wrong,

00:49:41this is wrong.

00:49:42And so you're asking me

00:49:43what we can do.

00:49:45I know what we can do,

00:49:46but we've got to

00:49:48as the great,

00:49:50as the great song.

00:49:56I, Senator Klobuchar,

00:49:58I had my staff

00:50:02print a bunch of things.

00:50:04I sent them.

00:50:07I sent them because

00:50:10they, I knew they were

00:50:11some of my favorite

00:50:13people from history.

00:50:15There's one here, Webster.

00:50:17There's one by Jefferson.

00:50:18There's the letters

00:50:19in the Birmingham jail.

00:50:20Langston Hughes.

00:50:21Something by Harper Lee.

00:50:23Emma Lazarus.

00:50:25But here's one,

00:50:26here's the answer

00:50:28in a poem.

00:50:30And forgive me for reading this.

00:50:31I wanted to do it

00:50:32at some point today

00:50:33and this is perfect

00:50:34and I see my senator here.

00:50:36He may have a question,

00:50:37but I, I love this poem.

00:50:41It was put to,

00:50:42written and put to song

00:50:43by a man named

00:50:44James Walden Johnson.

00:50:46He was an educator,

00:50:47a poet, a diplomat,

00:50:48a civil rights activist.

00:50:50Was born in the

00:50:51great state of Florida.

00:50:55And he said that

00:50:56this is what we have to do.

00:50:58Lift every voice and sing.

00:51:01Lift every voice

00:51:04and sing till

00:51:05earth and heaven ring.

00:51:07Ring with the harmonies

00:51:08of liberty.

00:51:11Let our rejoicing rise

00:51:12high as the listening skies.

00:51:14Let it resound

00:51:15like the rolling sea.

00:51:17We must sing a song

00:51:18full of the faith

00:51:19that the dark past

00:51:20has taught us.

00:51:21Sing a song

00:51:22full of the hope

00:51:23that the present

00:51:24has brought us.

00:51:25Facing the rising sun

00:51:26of a new day begun,

00:51:27let us march on,

00:51:28let us march on,

00:51:29let us march on

00:51:30until victory is won.

00:51:32It doesn't ignore

00:51:33the wretchedness

00:51:34of our history.

00:51:35It speaks to the truth

00:51:36and the excitement

00:51:37and the hope

00:51:38about that past

00:51:39and the virtues

00:51:40that our ancestors gave us.

00:51:42He goes on,

00:51:43stoning the road we trod,

00:51:44bitter the chastening rod,

00:51:46felt in the days

00:51:47when hope unborn had died,

00:51:50yet with a steady beat

00:51:52have not our weary feet

00:51:54come to the place

00:51:56for which our fathers sighed.

00:51:58We have come

00:51:59over a way

00:52:00with the tears

00:52:02which tears have been watered.

00:52:03We have come

00:52:04treading our path

00:52:05through the blood

00:52:06of the slaughtered

00:52:07out of the gloomy past

00:52:09till now we stand at last

00:52:12where the white gleam

00:52:13of the bright stars

00:52:17is cast.

00:52:18The last stanza.

00:52:20God of our weary years,

00:52:21God of our silent tears,

00:52:22thou who hast brought us

00:52:24thus far on the way,

00:52:26thou who hast by thy might

00:52:27led us into the night,

00:52:29keep us forever

00:52:30in the path we pray,

00:52:31lest our feet

00:52:33stray from the places,

00:52:34our God,

00:52:35where we met thee,

00:52:36lest our hearts,

00:52:37drunk with the wine

00:52:38of the world,

00:52:39we forget thee.

00:52:40Shadow beneath thy hand

00:52:41may we forever stand

00:52:42true to our God

00:52:43and true to our,

00:52:44to this,

00:52:45to this native land.

00:52:46What can we do

00:52:48is do like our ancestors did.

00:52:49What can we do?

00:52:51Do like the people

00:52:52who never gave up,

00:52:53who, even when this country

00:52:54that they loved

00:52:55didn't love them back,

00:52:56they kept fighting

00:52:57and kept pushing.

00:52:58And we know that,

00:52:59Senator Klobuchar,

00:53:00because we've witnessed that

00:53:01in my time in the Senate with you.

00:53:02We've seen

00:53:03the most amazing,

00:53:04shocking moments

00:53:05within a Burgerfeld case

00:53:06at the Supreme Court

00:53:08recognizing the humanity,

00:53:09the indignity,

00:53:10and the equal rights

00:53:11of LGBTQ Americans

00:53:12to have love and marry.

00:53:14We've seen fights

00:53:16in this time

00:53:17that we've been here

00:53:18where we've seen victories

00:53:19on healthcare

00:53:21that made such a difference

00:53:22in people's lives.

00:53:23We've seen the fights

00:53:24while we've been here,

00:53:25some of the most painful moments

00:53:27where we've seen the arc

00:53:28of the moral universe bent,

00:53:29not by the people here,

00:53:32not by the people in this body.

00:53:36You think we got suffrage

00:53:37because a bunch of men

00:53:38on the Senate floor

00:53:39said,

00:53:40Guys, come on.

00:53:41Put your hands in here.

00:53:42Ready?

00:53:43Give women the right to vote on three.

00:53:44Ready?

00:53:45Break.

00:53:46That's not how it happened.

00:53:47It's not how it happened.

00:53:48It happened because

00:53:49the power of the people

00:53:50is greater than the people in power.

00:53:51You think we got civil rights

00:53:52because one day Strom Thurmond,

00:53:54after filibustering for 24 hours,

00:53:57you think we got civil rights

00:54:00because he came to the floor one day

00:54:03and said,

00:54:04I've seen the light.

00:54:05Let those Negro people

00:54:06have the right to vote.

00:54:07No.

00:54:08We got civil rights

00:54:09because people marched for it,

00:54:10sweat for it,

00:54:11and John Lewis bled for it.

00:54:14And so I'm scared, too.

00:54:19But fear is a necessary

00:54:20precondition to courage.

00:54:23I am angry, too.

00:54:24But my mom told me,

00:54:25Never let your anger consume you.

00:54:27Channel it.

00:54:28Fuel it.

00:54:29So it can help your love

00:54:30be greater and stronger.

00:54:32Amy Klobuchar,

00:54:33that's what this moment needs.

00:54:35And our job in this body

00:54:37is to be truth-tellers.

00:54:38Our job, just as you said so brilliantly,

00:54:41is to elevate the voices

00:54:43of the people of the country

00:54:44because you're right, Amy Klobuchar,

00:54:46this is the people's house.

00:54:48It's Article I of the Constitution

00:54:50and it's under assault.

00:54:52Article I is under assault.

00:54:54Our spending powers,

00:54:56our budgetary powers,

00:54:58the power to establish agencies

00:55:00like the Department of Education

00:55:02and USAID,

00:55:03it's under assault by a president

00:55:05that doesn't respect this document.

00:55:07And how do we stop them?

00:55:09I'm sorry to say

00:55:10we hold powerful positions,

00:55:12we are elected by great states,

00:55:14but we're the minority right now

00:55:15and you spelled it out

00:55:16at the beginning of your questions to me.

00:55:18It will take three people of conscience

00:55:20on that side.

00:55:21It will take...

00:55:24It will take four here.

00:55:26I'm going back to my book

00:55:27because there's somebody that you know,

00:55:29I don't know if my staff

00:55:30put it in at the last moment.

00:55:31Yes, they did.

00:55:33Margaret Chase Stevens,

00:55:35who you know.

00:55:37Margaret Chase Smith, excuse me.

00:55:39A U.S. Senator from Maine,

00:55:41a Republican.

00:55:43When a demagogue had rose in the land

00:55:45exploiting people's fear,

00:55:47deporting Jews

00:55:49who were not citizens of this country

00:55:51because they were accusing them

00:55:53of being communists,

00:55:55at a time that this body

00:55:57was being twisted and contorted

00:55:58to the will of a demagogue,

00:56:00where nobody had the courage to stand up,

00:56:03it was a woman

00:56:05from the Republican Party

00:56:07that stood, I don't know,

00:56:09somewhere in this body.

00:56:10Her feet might have been tired.

00:56:11Her heart might have been hurt.

00:56:13She might have been afraid

00:56:14of the consequences

00:56:16to stand up to people

00:56:17preaching the Red Scare.

00:56:19But this woman in this body,

00:56:21rare thing in those years,

00:56:24this woman in this body

00:56:25who are founders,

00:56:26those imperfect geniuses

00:56:27that wrote this Constitution,

00:56:29the woman in this body

00:56:30who wasn't imagined by our founders,

00:56:33thank God they called upon us

00:56:35to make a more perfect union.

00:56:37And generations of activists

00:56:39finally made it real

00:56:41that women could serve in this body.

00:56:43She had the courage,

00:56:45the audacity

00:56:47to call her own party to task.

00:56:51I read her words.

00:56:55She said,

00:56:56I don't believe that the Republican Party

00:56:58is any sense

00:57:00a party of fear.

00:57:02But I do believe

00:57:03that the Republican Party

00:57:04has made an alliance

00:57:06with the four horsemen of fear.

00:57:08The fear of communists,

00:57:10the fear of labor unions,

00:57:12the fear of the future,

00:57:14the fear of progress.

00:57:17I think it's high time

00:57:18that we remembered

00:57:19that we have sworn

00:57:20to uphold and defend

00:57:22the Constitution, she continues.

00:57:24I think it's time

00:57:25that we remembered

00:57:26that the Constitution

00:57:27as amended speaks

00:57:28not only of the freedom of speech,

00:57:31but also the freedom of trial by jury.

00:57:36This great senator,

00:57:37this great Republican said,

00:57:39whether it is criminal prosecutions

00:57:40in a court

00:57:41or character prosecution in the Senate,

00:57:43there is little political distinction

00:57:46when the life of a person

00:57:48has been ruined.

00:57:50Those of us who shout the loudest

00:57:52about Americanism

00:57:53in making character assassinations

00:57:56all too frequently,

00:57:58those who,

00:57:59by our own words and acts,

00:58:00ignore some of the basic principles

00:58:03of what it means

00:58:04to be an American.

00:58:06The right to criticize

00:58:08without thinking the president

00:58:10is going to drag you

00:58:12from the Oval Office

00:58:13for criticizing him.

00:58:15The right to hold

00:58:16unpopular beliefs.

00:58:19That if you have beliefs

00:58:20that I find contemptible,

00:58:22it doesn't mean

00:58:23that I can disappear you

00:58:24from a city street.

00:58:25She goes on,

00:58:26the right to protest.

00:58:28That just for assembling

00:58:30and speaking up,

00:58:32that's not a right

00:58:34to cut hundreds of millions of dollars

00:58:37to that university's science funding.

00:58:40The right to independent thought.

00:58:43The exercise of these rights

00:58:45should not cost

00:58:46one single American citizen

00:58:48his reputation

00:58:49or his right to a livelihood,

00:58:51nor should he be in danger

00:58:53of losing his reputation

00:58:55or livelihood

00:58:56merely because he happens

00:58:58to know someone

00:58:59who holds unpopular beliefs

00:59:01like a law firm

00:59:02that represents

00:59:03suing the president

00:59:05and now has their very firm,

00:59:08their very livelihoods,

00:59:10the legal secretaries and others

00:59:12come after them.

00:59:14Margaret Chase Smith

00:59:15goes on to call her party

00:59:18to be a woman of conscience,

00:59:19to stand up and say,

00:59:21I quote,

00:59:22the American people

00:59:23are sick and tired

00:59:24of being afraid

00:59:25to speak their minds

00:59:27lest they be politically smeared

00:59:29as communists

00:59:30or fascists by their opponents.

00:59:32Freedom of speech, she says,

00:59:33is not what it used to be in America.

00:59:36It has been so abused by some

00:59:38that it is not exercised by others.

00:59:40So dear God,

00:59:41if I stand up in this body

00:59:43and say it is wrong

00:59:44to put Pete Hegseth

00:59:45in the cabinet

00:59:48as Secretary of Defense

00:59:49because he's unqualified,

00:59:50he's unqualified,

00:59:51he's unqualified,

00:59:52look at a signal chat

00:59:53to see how unqualified he is.

00:59:56Margaret Chase Smith continues,

01:00:00as a Republican,

01:00:02I say to my colleagues

01:00:03on this side of the aisle

01:00:04that the Republican Party

01:00:05faces challenges today

01:00:07that is not unlike the challenges

01:00:09faced by Lincoln back in the day.

01:00:11The Republican Party

01:00:12so successfully met that challenge

01:00:15that it emerged from the Civil War

01:00:17as the champion of a united nation

01:00:20in addition to being the party

01:00:22which unrelentingly fought

01:00:25loose spending and loose programs.

01:00:27I doubt if the Republican Party

01:00:29simply could do so

01:00:30simply because I do not believe

01:00:31the American people

01:00:32will uphold any political party

01:00:34that puts political exploitation

01:00:37above the national interests.

01:00:40Surely we Republicans

01:00:42are not so desperate for victory.

01:00:46I do not want to see

01:00:48the Republican Party win that way.

01:00:50While it might be a fleeting victory

01:00:52for the Republican Party,

01:00:54it would be a more lasting defeat

01:00:56for the American people, she says.

01:00:59Surely it would ultimately be suicide

01:01:01for the Republican Party

01:01:03and the two-party system itself

01:01:05that has protected American liberties

01:01:08from the dictatorship

01:01:10of a one-party system.

01:01:13You ask me, Amy Klobuchar,

01:01:15what do we need to do?

01:01:17We need to call to the conscience

01:01:19of our comrades in the people's branch

01:01:22and say, how could you go along

01:01:24with a reconciliation

01:01:26that will put trillions of dollars of debt

01:01:28on our children and our children's children?

01:01:31How could you go along

01:01:32with cutting $800 billion from Medicaid

01:01:36only to give tax cuts to the wealthiest,

01:01:39to disproportionately go to the wealthiest?

01:01:41How can you, in good conscience,

01:01:42if you're a fiscal hawk,

01:01:44if you're a Christian conservative,

01:01:46how could you hurt the weak

01:01:48to benefit the rich and powerful?

01:01:50That is the answer to your question.

01:01:52The people of the United States of America,

01:01:54all of us, have to stand up

01:01:56and say, no, not on my watch.

01:01:58I'm a Republican, I'm a veteran,

01:02:00I'm a police officer, I'm a firefighter,

01:02:02I'm a teacher.

01:02:03Not in America.

01:02:04We won't allow this.

01:02:05We won't allow this.

01:02:06We won't allow this.

01:02:10Will the senator from New Jersey

01:02:13yield for question?

01:02:14I will yield for a question

01:02:15while retaining the floor.

01:02:17I thank my colleague,

01:02:19and I have been listening to this

01:02:22and a Herculean presentation

01:02:26for hours and hours,

01:02:29and your remarks reflect the urgency

01:02:32of our times, Senator Booker,

01:02:34and I thank you for it.

01:02:36Let me frame the question this way.

01:02:40I hold open to all town hall meetings

01:02:43in every county in my state each year.

01:02:46I've had more than 1,100 of them,

01:02:49and since Donald Trump took office,

01:02:53what we have seen in these town hall meetings

01:02:57is fear and terror,

01:03:00and I might add record turnouts.

01:03:04You know, I was in a small town

01:03:06in Central Oregon recently, Sisters.

01:03:08We had almost 1,400 people here

01:03:12and what people asked about,

01:03:14and you've touched on this morning,

01:03:17is of course Medicaid and Social Security

01:03:20because these are programs

01:03:22involving health care and retirement

01:03:24that are really the connective tissue

01:03:27between the government and our people,

01:03:31and these programs make it possible

01:03:34for people to pay for essentials.

01:03:37They're not going to fancy places.

01:03:39They're buying groceries.

01:03:41They're paying rent.

01:03:42They're buying medicine.

01:03:44We had one separate town hall meeting,

01:03:47I say to my colleague,

01:03:48just with federal employees

01:03:50whose goal is to get out in the woods

01:03:53and help prevent fire in Oregon.

01:03:56I organized this meeting.

01:03:58They, too, are terrified.

01:04:00They've dedicated their lives to trying to help.

01:04:04Now, we serve the American people,

01:04:07and I'm telling you,

01:04:08I've seen service in action

01:04:10over the last few hours

01:04:12with your reflecting the urgency of our times.

01:04:16Our salaries are paid for by taxpayers,

01:04:20and I'm particularly troubled

01:04:23by the fact that we're getting all these reports

01:04:26that many senators are saying,

01:04:28I'm not going to do town hall meetings.

01:04:32They're on the other side of the aisle.

01:04:34As I said, I've had 1,100 of them,

01:04:3610 of them so far this year.

01:04:39Seems to me that's refusing to answer to constituents.

01:04:44And you've been here all night,

01:04:46and you're setting a very clear example

01:04:49about what it means to push back

01:04:52against authoritarianism.

01:04:54So just like I have town hall meetings,

01:04:57my question to my friend from New Jersey

01:05:00is what are you hearing from home?

01:05:03Pretty straightforward question,

01:05:06but it sure as heck

01:05:08is what the Times are all about,

01:05:10because people are saying,

01:05:11what are you doing back there?

01:05:13What's important to you?

01:05:15And I talk about town meetings.

01:05:17I had a town hall, I say to my friend,

01:05:21during the speech

01:05:23that was made on the floor of the House.

01:05:26I had 30,000 people participating.

01:05:29That's a lot for my small state.

01:05:31So I know what I'm doing,

01:05:33and I think the American people

01:05:34would like to hear a bit

01:05:36about what my colleague is hearing from his state

01:05:40and why it's so important

01:05:42that he's out here mopping his brow today,

01:05:45you know, trying to stay on his feet,

01:05:48making the case for the urgency of our time.

01:05:50What are you hearing?

01:05:51Thank you, Senator.

01:05:52I'm hearing a lot of fear, a lot of anger.

01:05:56I'm hearing heads of hospitals say

01:05:58that this is outrageous,

01:06:01the threats to our hospitals in New Jersey.

01:06:03I'm hearing heads of critical health services

01:06:05tell me what the Medicaid cuts will mean

01:06:07to their organizations.

01:06:08I'm hearing from Catholic priests

01:06:10that are doing extraordinary things

01:06:12in service of their communities.

01:06:14I'm hearing from citizens who are veterans

01:06:18who got fired from their jobs.

01:06:21I'm hearing from people, as I read letters,

01:06:24from people who work in the Social Security agency

01:06:27and what the chaos that's been created

01:06:30and the lack of the deteriorating service to seniors.

01:06:34I've heard from seniors who are terrified

01:06:38about what's being done to Social Security

01:06:40and how it might affect their lives.

01:06:42I'm hearing demands from our constituents,

01:06:44people demanding, Senator,

01:06:48that we do something about the outrages they're seeing.

01:06:53And I think that when I hear New Jerseyans,

01:06:59by larger and larger numbers,

01:07:02and I'll be back in my state.

01:07:04I know we were planning meetings and a town hall

01:07:07and a lot more this weekend.

01:07:12But I have to say, now more than ever,

01:07:17we need more of it.

01:07:20We need more of it.

01:07:22And one of the reasons I'm here

01:07:25is because I want to elevate those voices

01:07:27of my constituents.

01:07:29I want to tell the stories

01:07:34that my constituents are writing in about

01:07:38and lift their voices and tell them

01:07:40that they're seen, they're heard.

01:07:44I've been going through section by section,

01:07:46as you pointed out, Social Security,

01:07:48section on health care, section on education

01:07:51and the Department of Education and the work that it does.

01:07:53I've been going point by point through.

01:07:57This is the agenda.

01:07:58I didn't know how much of it I can get through.

01:08:01But we laid it out.

01:08:03We have binders for each one of these issues.

01:08:05Immigration, we went through.

01:08:07We have housing, the environment,

01:08:09farmers and food, veterans,

01:08:12the corruption that's been normalized by this president,

01:08:15the rule of law, public safety,

01:08:19all of the ways that we know

01:08:21that there is a crisis in our country

01:08:23and we, as a nation, need to be more attuned to it

01:08:26and doing more to meet this crisis,

01:08:28to rise up and defend our country,

01:08:31defend our well-being.

01:08:32And all while, things are happening that you know.

01:08:35You're the chairman of the Finance Committee.

01:08:38And you have these insights.

01:08:40We've talked about them,

01:08:41about what's about to happen in this reconciliation process.

01:08:45I mean, that's one of the most stunning things.

01:08:47It's almost immediate on this floor.

01:08:48I think we're going to see about the tariffs tomorrow

01:08:50and see how far the president will go.

01:08:53But we do know, whatever it is,

01:08:55it's going to affect prices

01:08:56that are going to continue to go up for Americans,

01:08:58as inflation has continued to go up for Americans,

01:09:03as the stock market has continued to go down,

01:09:05as people's 401ks have lost so much money,

01:09:09the uncertainty I'm hearing from businesses in New Jersey,

01:09:13the chaos that they feel about the economy,

01:09:15the consumer confidence in this country has gone way down.

01:09:19If you ask the question,

01:09:20are you better off than you were 71 days ago,

01:09:23not many Americans would say that they're better off.

01:09:26Their costs are higher. Their groceries are higher.

01:09:29They're soon to see everything from car prices to food go higher.

01:09:34Their retirement security is under attack.

01:09:36Their health care is under attack.

01:09:38They're losing their Department of Education.

01:09:41They're less safe from infectious diseases abroad.

01:09:46There are so many things that we have to talk to

01:09:51and try to stop.

01:09:52And you're our leader on the Finance Committee,

01:09:55and you know that the tax thing,

01:09:58they're trying to run through this now.

01:10:00I'm trying to get my head wrapped around

01:10:03these wacky parliamentary things

01:10:05that even the podcasts I listen to in the morning to inform me say.

01:10:08They even spoke about this years and years ago,

01:10:10but they said, oh, this is too crazy.

01:10:12We can't do this.

01:10:13To try to tell the American people somehow

01:10:15that the trillions of dollars of tax cuts

01:10:19that we're going to give

01:10:20disproportionately to the wealthiest people of all,

01:10:22oh, there's nothing to see here that has a zero impact on the budget

01:10:25so we can do it through reconciliation.

01:10:27That is the biggest hocus-pocus manufactured artifice

01:10:33that I've ever seen to obscure the truth in America

01:10:37that what the Republicans are trying to do

01:10:40is cut massively into health care for Americans

01:10:44in order to give tax cuts

01:10:49disproportionately to the wealthiest who don't need it

01:10:52and to drive up the deficits

01:10:54making our children and our children's children

01:10:56have a more dangerous economy

01:10:59and higher and higher debt payments to make,

01:11:02debt payments that will skyrocket

01:11:03higher than any expense the government makes.

01:11:06We are literally about to see something go through reconciliation

01:11:09that threatens to sacrifice our children's future

01:11:12so the rich can get richer.

01:11:17And so I know there's a lot of people who are angry,

01:11:21who are worried, who are feeling overwhelmed,

01:11:24who are struggling to make ends meet,

01:11:26but I know of only one way to do this,

01:11:29and I'm trying to do it myself,

01:11:31is to do things differently,

01:11:32to stand up, to speak up,

01:11:36to not act like this is just normal in our country.

01:11:41There's not a president from Eisenhower

01:11:45to Reagan to Bush on the Republican side

01:11:48that could ever imagine a day

01:11:51where in a UN vote

01:11:53we side with Russia and China

01:11:56against the Western democracies

01:11:58that we saved in World War II,

01:12:01that we stormed beaches of Normandy for,

01:12:06that we did the Berlin Airlift for,

01:12:11that we did the Marshall Plan for.

01:12:13We designed the world order,

01:12:16and now we're turning our back on it.

01:12:18We designed the rules-based world order,

01:12:21and we're turning our back on those organizations,

01:12:24from trashing NATO

01:12:26to getting out of the World Health Organization

01:12:28to getting out of the group of countries

01:12:30coming together to deal with climate change.

01:12:33We're not leading the planet Earth anymore.

01:12:36Our allies are saying openly they can't trust us.

01:12:42The quotes are unbelievable by our allies.

01:12:50Generations of Americans all know one thing.

01:12:53Russia is our adversary.

01:12:54This principle was reinforced

01:12:56after Russia's brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine

01:12:59in February of 2022.

01:13:02The American public knows a lot about Putin and his cronies

01:13:07and what they've done to the brave people of Ukraine.

01:13:10Russia has abducted over 19,000 children,

01:13:12taking them from their families and homeland.

01:13:15Russia has targeted civilians,

01:13:17bombing hospitals and schools,

01:13:19including a strike on a children's hospital

01:13:21during the supposed ceasefire negotiations.

01:13:23Just a few weeks ago,

01:13:24Russian forces have raped and assaulted Ukrainian civilians,

01:13:28and Russia has tortured prisoners of war.

01:13:33One would think, given all the horrors inflicted by Russia,

01:13:37that the United States would continue to treat Russia

01:13:39as the adversary and the pariah

01:13:42that other Western democracies treat it.

01:13:45But that's not what Trump has done.

01:13:47He's done the opposite.

01:13:49On the third anniversary of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,

01:13:52the Trump administration joined Russia and North Korea

01:13:56in voting against a U.N. resolution

01:13:58condemning the invasion that has killed

01:14:00over 12,000 Ukrainian civilians and injured 30,000.

01:14:04Imagine that.

01:14:06I had the foreign minister of a great ally in NATO

01:14:10in my office looking at me and saying,

01:14:13basically, W, what the heck?

01:14:17My friend Chris Murphy on the floor,

01:14:19we sit close to each other,

01:14:21he's further up the dais than me in foreign relations,

01:14:24and this stuff is insanity.

01:14:29Here's NBC News.

01:14:31President Donald Trump has said Ukraine, not Russia,

01:14:34started the war.

01:14:36He called Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky,

01:14:38not Vladimir Putin,

01:14:40he called Zelensky a dictator.

01:14:42Meanwhile, Trump's administration is standing down

01:14:44on a suite of tough anti-Kremlin policies.

01:14:47In just over a month,

01:14:49Trump has executed a startling realignment

01:14:52of American foreign policy,

01:14:54effectively throwing U.S. support behind Moscow

01:14:57and rejecting the tight alliance with Kiev,

01:15:02cultivated by former President Joe Biden.

01:15:05The extraordinary pivot has upended decades

01:15:08of hawkish foreign policy towards Russia

01:15:10that provided a rare area of bipartisan consensus

01:15:13in an increasingly divided nation.

01:15:15Trump's recent moves have drawn international attention,

01:15:19unsettling U.S. alliances,

01:15:22and thrilling conservative populists

01:15:24to favor a turn away from Zelensky.

01:15:27The new posture was put in stark relief on Friday

01:15:31during a tense Oval Office meeting.

01:15:33We all remember this.

01:15:34Between Trump and Zelensky,

01:15:36the leaders clashed in front of the press,

01:15:38raising questions about the future of American support for Kiev.

01:15:46Alliances and partners around the world

01:15:48are our biggest strength

01:15:50against any U.S. adversary or competitor

01:15:53from China to Russia to Iran to North Korea.

01:15:56We are the strongest nation on the planet Earth,

01:15:59and our strength is multiplied and magnified

01:16:02when we stand in alliance with those nations

01:16:05that share our values and are bonded to us

01:16:08and are committed to us.

01:16:09In fact, the only time Article 5 in the United Nations,

01:16:14that article that says that if one person in NATO is attacked,

01:16:18everyone is attacked, and they all join together,

01:16:22that one time it happened was 9-11,

01:16:26when our NATO allies stood up with America.

01:16:31And so look at NATO.

01:16:33It's been the bedrock of the international order for 80 years.

01:16:36It was created in 1949 by 12 countries,

01:16:39including the United States,

01:16:41to provide collective security

01:16:45and in many ways to provide collective security

01:16:47against the Soviet Union.

01:16:49Since then, 20 more countries have joined NATO

01:16:52through 10 rounds of enlargement,

01:16:54bringing the total number of NATO countries to 32.

01:16:57The most recent additions were Sweden in 2024

01:17:00and Finland in 2023,

01:17:02who applied to join NATO in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine

01:17:06because those countries are realizing

01:17:11that the authoritarian dictator that Putin is,

01:17:15who threatens his smaller neighbors,

01:17:17those other nations have realized

01:17:19they should be standing with NATO,

01:17:22that we have a principle of collective defense.

01:17:25As I said enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty,

01:17:29collective defense means that an attack on one ally

01:17:32is considered an attack against all allies.

01:17:37A strong NATO has made America safer and stronger

01:17:40and more prosperous.

01:17:42My colleagues in both sides of the aisle have recognized this.

01:17:45I've been in this body for 12 years.

01:17:47I've been told by people who I've learned from

01:17:50about foreign policy when I came here as a mayor

01:17:53and leaned on people like Chris Coons

01:17:56and leaned on people like Chris Murphy,

01:17:58leaned on people like John McCain,

01:18:00leaned on people like Lindsey Graham,

01:18:02leaned on people like Senator Rubio.

01:18:07He helped pass a law that enshrined congressional action

01:18:10before the president can withdraw from NATO.

01:18:12That law passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

01:18:1587 senators voted yes.

01:18:17Senator Rubio, now Secretary of State, said, and I quote,

01:18:21NATO serves as an essential military alliance

01:18:24that protects shared natural interests

01:18:27and enhances America's international presence.

01:18:30Any decision to leave the alliance

01:18:32should be rigorously debated

01:18:34and considered by the U.S. Congress

01:18:36with the input of the American people.

01:18:38Two weeks ago, though, on March 19th in 2025,

01:18:43in response to news that the Pentagon

01:18:45may give up the role of Supreme Allied Commander in Europe,

01:18:50a position held by an American general

01:18:53since the NATO alliance was formed in 1949,

01:18:57Republican Senator Wicker and Representative Rogers

01:19:01signaled their oppositions

01:19:03in an extraordinarily joint statement warning to Donald Trump

01:19:06that that change would, quote,

01:19:08risk undermining American deterrence around the globe.

01:19:13I want to read some of the comments of NATO partners

01:19:16about the damage that has been done

01:19:18in just the last 71 days of Trump's leadership

01:19:22in upending the world order

01:19:24that has helped to keep America stronger and safer and more prosperous.

01:19:29The EU's top diplomat said the free world needs a new leader.

01:19:34Think about that. Think about that.

01:19:37The EU's top diplomat has said in response to Donald Trump

01:19:41that now the free world needs a new leader.

01:19:44Every president of my lifetime

01:19:46was seen as the leader of the free world,

01:19:48and now the rest of the free world,

01:19:50its top diplomat is saying it's time for that to change.

01:19:56The new German chancellor said

01:19:59my absolute priority will be to strengthen Europe

01:20:03as quickly as possible,

01:20:05so that step by step,

01:20:07we can really achieve independence from the USA.

01:20:14He went on to say,

01:20:15I never thought I would have to say something like this

01:20:18on a television program,

01:20:20but after Donald Trump's statements,

01:20:22it is clear that the Americans,

01:20:25at least this part of the Americans,

01:20:27this administration,

01:20:28are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.

01:20:33Our ancestors saved Europe.

01:20:37Our ancestors stormed beaches in Normandy,

01:20:42paratrooped into Europe,

01:20:44liberated concentration camps.

01:20:46Our ancestors sacrificed blood and treasure for Europe.

01:20:51It turned Germany,

01:20:53from one of history's worst despotic states,

01:20:57into a global economic power and a democracy.

01:21:04We were there at the Berlin Airlift.

01:21:06We were there for the Marshall Plan.

01:21:11And now Europe is saying it is clear that the Americas,

01:21:18at least that part of the Americas,

01:21:20this administration,

01:21:21are largely indifferent to the fate of Europe.

01:21:24That is not true.

01:21:25And as long as I have breath in my body and blood in my veins,

01:21:28I will join with the other people on both sides of the aisle,

01:21:31God bless you, Roger Wicker,

01:21:32for standing with the understanding

01:21:34that America is the strongest nation in the world,

01:21:38but our strength is multiplied and magnified

01:21:41when we stand with our allies from Germany to Japan,

01:21:45from Australia to Iceland,

01:21:48that when our country stands up,

01:21:50we don't bully our neighbors like Canada,

01:21:53we don't threaten our allies like Iceland, like Greenland,

01:21:58we don't threaten smaller, weaker nations like Panama,

01:22:03we don't upend the world order.

01:22:06Donald Trump does not speak for me.

01:22:08He does not speak for the traditions of this body.

01:22:11He doesn't speak for the people that are buried,

01:22:14Americans that are buried in fields in Germany and in France

01:22:22and all over Europe.

01:22:26Here is former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's speech

01:22:30at Tornado and the Atlantic Council.

01:22:34On April 4th, 1949,

01:22:3612 democracies came together in the wake of two world wars

01:22:40and the dawn of a new Cold War,

01:22:42and they all remembered, as President Truman put it then,

01:22:45the sickening blow of unprovoked aggression.

01:22:50That's what Truman said.

01:22:52They were coming together against the sickening blow

01:22:55of unprovoked aggression.

01:22:58You hear that, Putin?

01:23:01And so they vowed to stand together for their collective defense

01:23:04and to safeguard freedom and democracy

01:23:07across Europe and North America.

01:23:10They made a solemn commitment

01:23:12declaring that an armed attack against one ally

01:23:15would be considered an attack against all.

01:23:18That commitment was enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

01:23:22It was the foundation of NATO, and it still is.

01:23:27And on that bedrock, we have built the strongest

01:23:30and most successful defense alliance in all of human history,

01:23:34and I'll say, one of the most prosperous blocks of democratic countries.

01:23:40Throughout the Cold War,

01:23:42NATO deterred Soviet aggression against Western Europe

01:23:45and prevented a third world war.

01:23:47In the 1990s, NATO used air power

01:23:51to stop ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo.

01:23:56And the day after September 11, 2001,

01:23:59when al-Qaeda terrorists attacked our country,

01:24:02including slamming a plane into the Pentagon not far from here,

01:24:06NATO invoked Article 5 for the first and only time in history.

01:24:11Will the senator yield for a question?

01:24:16I yield for a question while retaining the floor.

01:24:19I yield to one of my best friends in the Senate.

01:24:23I yield to one of the smartest guys I know.

01:24:26I yield to the guy who handed me the chairmanship

01:24:30of the committee that oversaw world public health and Africa

01:24:35and still reminds me that he knows more Swahili than I'll ever know.

01:24:39I yield to the guy who, when he speaks up in the Senate,

01:24:42people on both sides of the aisle listen.

01:24:44I yield to my friend who has real friendships,

01:24:48who, when I came to and said

01:24:51we were seeing the worst famines on the planet Earth,

01:24:54that Joe Biden didn't put enough money into the world feeding programs,

01:24:59he went to another appropriator over there,

01:25:02another friend of ours, Lindsey Graham,

01:25:05and together we got billions of dollars of more

01:25:08that saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

01:25:10You are a prince of a man. You are my friend.

01:25:13You are somebody that is a hero

01:25:15who folks don't know their name in the countries that you've affected

01:25:18with your strength on foreign policy.

01:25:21Dear God, my friend,

01:25:22I yield the floor for a question while retaining the floor.

'This Admin. Is Not Working For Ordinary People': Warnock, Dem Senators Join Cory Booker Filibuster

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