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Welcome back to New Jersey Power and Politics. The year was 1957. The late segregationist Senator Strom Thurmond made history, speaking for 24 hours and 18 minutes in an attempt to block the Civil Rights Act of 1957. This week, Senator Cory Booker set a new record for a longer speech on the Senate floor, 25 hours, 4 minutes. It was a marathon protesting President Trump and his policies. Here's some of what he had to say. Tonight I rise with the intention. Of getting in some good trouble. I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able. I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis, and I believe that. Not in a partisan sense because so many of the people that have been reaching out to my office. In pain, in fear, having their lives upended, so many of them identify themselves as Republicans. Are you better off economically than you were 71 days ago? Where were you? Did you speak up? You don't fix America by throwing seniors or veterans or Americans with disabilities under the bus. That's not how we do things. Instead. Lies are being proffered about Social Security making wrongful payments. Lies are being profited proffered by the highest office in the land. All right, joining me now with their take on Senator Booker's marathon performance are former Democratic Assemblyman John Wisniewski and Matt Rooney, founder and editor and chief of conservative site Save Jersey. Thank you both so much for being here. It's good to see you. Good to see you. Pleasure to be here. Listen, uh, much of the focus in the media, as you both know, has been on the historic length of Senator Booker's speech on the Senate floor. That feet aside, uh, what did you think of substance, John, I'll start with you. Well, I thought the substance was spot on. I thought that in the 25 hours, I mean, obviously a lot of repetition, you can't say something new for 25 hours straight, but the focus was on how the Trump administration is step by step trying to dismantle federal government, to dismantle Social Security, trying to dismantle help for veterans, and the list goes on. And so in that regard, I give Corey high marks for highlighting the problems with the Trump administration. Matt, all right, I'll let you respond. What did you think about the message and the messenger? It was the perfect Cory Booker speech. Um, I didn't think it'd be possible to say nothing in 25 hours, but way to go, Senator Booker. Uh, you did it. I mean, look, this is, this is a man who's made a career off of pulling cats out of trees when he was mayor of Newark, but actually somehow leaving the city in worse shape than when Sharpe James was in charge of it. Um, he, he succeeded in proving that the Democrats of 2020. all form over substance. They, they hate the orange man. They hate Donald Trump. Now he's the tariff man, but they have no real solutions to fix our trade imbalances, to make our people more prosperous, to make us more free. If you can't say it in 25 hours, then that means you don't have any real tools, any real solutions to make New Jerseyans and Americans better off. If you can't find it in Cory Booker's speech, then you can't. Um, then I don't think you're going to expect to find it from the Democrat Party any other time of the year or any other hour on the clock. So as much as it annoyed me, I needed some, uh, Tylenol at the end of that speech. I think it's a perfect illustration of where we are right now. Listen, John, Democrats nationwide have been calling on their elected leaders to fight, so pros and anecdotes a society, is that what this was an attempt to fight? Well, I think it's, yeah, I think it's the beginning. Of the resistance. Look, I think that there are a lot of senators who could have said no a lot sooner, you know, they could have all voted no on the Trump appointees. I mean, somebody voting yes on John Radcliffe as CIA director or voting for Tulsi Gabbard or voting for Marco Rubio, you know, they all probably are embarrassed having had to do that at that point in time because probably none of them really thought. That it would get as bad as it is. Look, Cory Booker didn't get on the floor and give a 25 hour speech because he hoped to give a point by point breakdown of what comes next. It was a protest. That's what it was, the same thing that Strom Thurmond's speech was 70 years ago. It was a protest, but what the Democrats need to do is point out how the Trump administration is really Destroying the fabric of America and the senator was right. It's not just Democrats who are complaining about what Donald Trump is doing. It's Republicans. It's veterans. It's seniors. These are people who mistakenly thought that Donald Trump was their man, and now they're finding out that he has no idea, no idea what he's doing. Matt, I want to give you a chance to respond before you do. Does this speech now become a forgotten footnote? Sure, because everyone else that we've talked about in recent days who's filibustered on the Senate floor, some of those causes were admirable, some of those causes were not. All of those senators were actually responding to a bill. Cory Booker just wanted to hear the sound of his own voice, uh, which doesn't do anything to put a single extra nickel. In any American's bank account, look, this is the Democrat Party of 2025. They don't stand for much and the stuff they do stand for trans in children, radical, radical economic solutions which are akin to the socialism, which is destroying Europe and other spots on the planet. Other countries are rapidly moving away from those. Policies, they can't tell you what they really believe because it doesn't work. So instead what we get is performative the theater, which is what Cory Booker just did on the floor of the United States Senate. If it makes Democrats feel better about the sorry shape their party's in, so be it, but that's why we just found out recently, and this is CNN reporting it, not, not Matt Rooney. Democrats on Capitol Hill have a 21% approval rating. That's basically friends and immediate family who think you're doing a good job. So if they want to keep it up, if they want to do what Cory Booker did, if they want to repeat their sorry performance during that joint session of Congress where they were holding up the signs like they were ordering beef at foga the chow, keep it up. It's just gonna make Republicans job much easier. John, we have like 10 seconds left to give you the last word here. I hope Matt keeps on believing that because there's going to be a tidal wave in the midterm election and the Republican caucus will sit in a phone booth. John Wisniewski, Matt Rooney, thanks so much. Appreciate both of your time. And keep it right here, we've got a lot more to come on New Jersey power and politics right after the break.

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19 states, including New Jersey, are now suing the Trump administration over the executive order on voting. Among other things, the order says Americans must show a proof of citizenship document to register to vote in federal races. Now the states claim it creates barriers to voting. New Jersey and 22 other states also suing the White House over the rollback of $12 billion in public health funding. The lawsuit claims that the cuts will lead to key public health services being discontinued and thousands of healthcare workers losing their jobs. New Jersey's AG Matt Platin calling the move reckless, saying. These damaging cuts will jeopardize services for people experiencing a mental health crisis or struggling with addiction, deprive patients at community health centers of the care they need, stripping our state of $350 million in congressionally authorized funding violates the law, plain and simple. And Doge Kutz hit a mobile health clinic run by a church in Highland Park. The Global Grace Mobile Clinic received a stop work order. Their $20,000 a month grant cut off. The clinic operates out of an RV five days a week all over the state. This week, providing medical care to those who live under a train bridge in New Brunswick. The doctor who runs it says that she wasn't given an explanation why the funding was cut, but fears it puts lives at risk. City of Newark is suing ICE, which, along with prison company GEO Group, is working to reopen Delaney Hall as an ICE detention center. The city claims city inspectors were blocked at the site and has sued to force ICE and Geo to cease occupancy and construction and allow inspectors in. In a protest outside the facility a few weeks back, the mayor said permits and approvals were never applied for. Now the GEO Group. To the suit saying in part the attempt by local and state officials to stop the opening of a lawful federal immigration processing center at the Delaney Hall facility in Newark is another unfortunate example of a politicized campaign by sanctuary city and open borders politicians in New Jersey to interfere with the federal government's efforts to arrest, detain and deport dangerous criminal illegal aliens in accordance with established federal law. The Trump administration halting $210 million in research grants for Princeton University, the latest university to face consequences as part of an investigation into anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination. The Ivy League's president saying in part Princeton University will comply with law and we are committed to fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination, and we will cooperate with the government in combating anti-Semitism. Princeton will also vigorously defend academic freedom and the due process rights of this university. That'll do it for this week. I'm Eric Lance Kronner. We thank you so much for watching New Jersey Power and Politics. We'll see you again next time.

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Rutgers Economics Professor Tom Prusa, former Democratic Assemblyman John Wisniewski and Matt Rooney, founder and editor-in-chief of the conservative site Save Jersey, join the show this week.

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