WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Cory Booker voiced strong opposition Tuesday to the Republican-backed budget bill that cleared the Senate following a marathon overnight session, calling it a “moral obscenity” and urging action in the House to stop its passage.
“We must turn our disappointment and anger into action,” Booker wrote on social media, linking to a video statement recorded shortly after leaving the Senate floor. “We can still fight this bill in the House.”
Booker detailed a series of amendments Democrats introduced during what he described as the longest “vote-a-rama” in Senate history, including measures to protect Medicaid, preserve SNAP benefits, lower prescription drug costs, and block additional tax cuts for top earners.
“We filed amendments to try to save things like SNAP for hungry children,” Booker said. “We filed amendments to stop them from gutting Medicaid… to protect the Affordable Care Act, to protect Planned Parenthood, to blunt the ridiculously large deficit hole.”
The bill, which includes a series of tax and spending measures, passed the Senate in the early hours of the morning after extended debate and repeated amendment rejections. Booker and other Democrats argue the legislation prioritizes the wealthy while cutting core services.
He emphasized that the bill still faces a vote in the House of Representatives and said just a small number of defections from the Republican majority could block it from becoming law.
“In the House, we just need four—four votes, just a handful that switch our way,” Booker said.
