Washington — As the sun rose on Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Cory Booker held a more than 12-hour sit-in protest on the steps of the Capitol, voicing their opposition to the Republican budget plan critical to enacting President Trump’s agenda.
Shortly after 6 a.m., the pair began livestreaming their conversation, with Booker warning of a “moment of moral urgency” as Congress returns from its two-week recess on Monday. The New Jersey Democrat had promised to sit and discuss the upcoming fight for “a good number of hours,” and he kept his word by staying on the steps for more than half a day.
Booker stated that the protest had received approximately 6 million views online through various platforms as of Sunday evening. The sit-in occurred less than a month after Booker gave a record-breaking 25-hour speech on the Senate floor to protest the Trump administration’s policies.
Congressional committees are set to begin work this week on the centerpiece legislation of President Trump’s first-year agenda, after both the House and Senate passed a budget resolution that serves as a blueprint before departing for recess. The plan is a critical step toward putting Mr. Trump’s priorities on border security, defense, energy, and taxes into action, and Republican leaders in Congress have set an ambitious deadline of Memorial Day for it to reach the president’s desk.
Republicans are pursuing the plan through the budget reconciliation process, which allows the majority party to pass major legislation without having to work across the aisle. Meanwhile, Democrats have vehemently opposed the plan, particularly the potential Medicaid cuts.
“As we prepare to return to session tomorrow, this is a time to choose,” said Jeffries, a New York Democrat, as the discussion began early Sunday. “And we’re either going to choose the side of the American people, or we’re going to choose this cruel budget that Republicans are trying to jam down the throats of the American people.”
During the conversation, Jeffries and Booker were joined by other lawmakers, including Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, and Adam Schiff of California, as well as Reps. Andre Carson of Indiana and Maxwell Frost of Florida, as well as advocates, leaders, and passersby.
Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, as well as Reps. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, Sarah McBride of Delaware, Mark Takano of California, Tom Suozzi of New York, Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California, Steven Horsford of Nevada, Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia, Emily Randall of Washington, Sarah Elfreth of Maryland, and Delegate Stacey Plaskett, joined in the final hours of the sit-in.
“We cannot continue to conduct business as usual. “We have to think of creative, new things to do,” Booker stated. “So Hakeem and I thought, let’s sit on the steps of the Capitol, open up a live feed right before the sun rises, and begin a conversation.”
During the early part of the sit-in, the conversation shifted from the budget plan to broader opposition to the Trump administration, as well as personal stories about faith. Later in the day, Booker and Jeffries gave the microphone to people who spoke about how Medicaid has affected their families’ lives and urged lawmakers to protect their benefits.