Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said during an interview over the weekend that it was time to &#8220;finally kill&#8221; the MAGA-wing of the Republican Party which comes a little over a month after a would be assassin tried to murder Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at a political rally in Pennsylvania.
Booker made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; when asked by host Jake Tapper how Democrats can claim that Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is a &#8220;new chapter&#8221; for the party considering that she is the incumbent in the race.
&#8220;Democrats have controlled the White House for 12 of the last 16 years,&#8221; Tapper said. &#8220;How can Democrats talk about a new chapter, turning the page? You guys are the ones writing the book.&#8221;
&#8220;Well, you know that that&#8217;s not true, Jake, because you know politics like I do,&#8221; Booker claimed. &#8220;Right now, we see the MAGA Republicans in Congress killing all kind of pragmatic policies that we need to get done.&#8221;
Booker falsely claimed that Trump killed the border deal that was proposed in the U.S. Senate when, in reality, it received widespread pushback from across the political Right for being an insufficient response to the crisis that has unfolded under the Biden-Harris administration.
&#8220;His influence is egregious and incredible, from his appointment of three people to the Supreme Court that are now rolling back the most fundamental of our rights and freedoms, like bodily autonomy and reproductive rights,&#8221; he claimed. &#8220;So, to say that the MAGA Republicans are not still undermining commonsense, pragmatic, sensible politics is just wrong. And what I know this election can do is finally kill that strain of the Republican Party in a way that I think helps the pragmatic Republicans come back.&#8221;
Moments after claiming that it was time to &#8220;finally kill&#8221; MAGA, Booker said that he &#8220;can&#8217;t stand this tribalism&#8221; and the &#8220;us versus them&#8221; mindset.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Corey Booker: This election can “finally kill” the MAGA “strain of the Republican Party.”
Trump was almost assass*nated weeks ago. A man was arrested last week for another assass*nation plot.
Yet they are not going to stop with this kind of incendiary, inflammatory and… <a href="https://t.co/3XiAn8a4Y0">pic.twitter.com/3XiAn8a4Y0</a>
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1827744113380192317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2024</a></blockquote>

Senators Work On Capitol Hill Ahead Of 2-Week Recess

Senator Booker: It’s Time To ‘Finally Kill’ MAGA ‘Strain’ Of GOP

Cory Booker

Donald Trump

Jake Tapper

MAGA

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cory-booker">Cory Booker</a> (D-NJ) has departed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/israel">Israel</a> after taking shelter in the country when <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hamas">Hamas</a> launched a surprise attack from Gaza this weekend, his <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1711058683675779105">office announced</a> on Sunday.
A member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Booker had traveled to the country in part to deliver a speech at an event <a href="https://2017-2021.state.gov/the-abraham-accords/">marking the deals</a> brokered by the Trump administration to normalize relations between Israel and Arab nations.
&#8220;On Friday, October 6, Senator Booker arrived in Israel for several days of planned meetings and site visits ahead of the start of an Abraham Accords-focused N7 summit on regional economic integration in Tel Aviv, at which he was scheduled to speak on Tuesday,&#8221; said Booker&#8217;s spokesperson Maya Krishna-Rogers.
&#8220;Senator Booker and accompanying staff were in Jerusalem when Hamas launched their attacks against Israel on Saturday, and sheltered in place for their safety. We are grateful that Senator Booker and our colleagues were able to safely depart Israel earlier today,&#8221; the statement added.
Booker later posted a short video to X in which he personally shared details about his experience.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I was in Israel when the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas started on Saturday. My team and I are now safe, but like many we are shaken, angered, and heartbroken by the hundreds killed, the thousands injured, those taken hostage, and all who are directly affected by these… <a href="https://t.co/E4BgEZxSTC">pic.twitter.com/E4BgEZxSTC</a>
&mdash; Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) <a href="https://twitter.com/CoryBooker/status/1711132186638791155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Israel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-israel-declares-state-of-war-as-palestinian-terrorists-launch-massive-surprise-attack-on-jewish-holiday">declared war</a> on Hamas after the militant group began an attack with rockets and gunmen crossing the border on Saturday, leading to reports of people getting killed and kidnapped. As of Sunday, with Israel ramping up its efforts to fight back, officials have estimated <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-hamas/?id=103804516">hundreds of people</a> have died and thousands are wounded in Israel and Gaza.
&#8220;I emphatically condemn Hamas&#8217; horrific acts of violence, kidnapping and terror targeting Israeli families, children and other civilians in towns and cities across the nation of Israel. I stand with the people of Israel and the families of those who have lost loved ones,&#8221; Booker <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-statement-on-israel">said</a> in a statement on Saturday.
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Another member of Congress, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), was also in Israel over the weekend with his wife and three youngest children for a family Bar Mitzvah, his office <a href="https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1711091517496979665">said</a> in a statement.
&#8220;Congressman Goldman and his family sheltered from Hamas rocket fire in their hotel’s interior stairwell until early Sunday morning, when they were able to safely depart for New York,&#8221; the statement added.
Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antony-blinken">Antony Blinken</a> said on Sunday the Biden administration is looking into reports of Americans being killed or taken hostage in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/israel">Israel</a>.
&#8220;We have reports that several Americans were killed. We’re working overtime to verify that. At the same time, there are reports of missing Americans and there again, we’re working to verify those reports,&#8221; the top U.S. diplomat <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blinken-says-u-s-working-to-verify-reports-of-americans-killed-or-captured-in-hamas-attack-on-israel">said</a> on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union.&#8221;
After Hamas began its attack, the Biden administration and top officials across the U.S. government pledged support for Israel. Meanwhile, officials in places across the United States with large Jewish populations said police would <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/police-beef-up-security-at-jewish-synagogues-across-u-s-after-hamas-attacks-israel">beef up security</a> around Jewish institutions.
In Booker&#8217;s home state of New Jersey, law enforcement &#8220;will be increasing patrols in sensitive areas – particularly houses of worship for both the Jewish and Islamic faiths – and taking other steps out of an abundance of caution,&#8221; <a href="https://www.njoag.gov/statement-from-attorney-general-matthew-j-platkin-regarding-precautions-being-taken-in-new-jersey-in-response-to-the-attacks-in-israel/">said</a> Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

Senator Cory Booker

U.S. Senator Took Shelter In Israel When Hamas Attacked

Congress

Hamas

Israel

Jerusalem

Politics

U.S. Senate

Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee discussed the collapse of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/cryptocurrency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cryptocurrency</a> exchange FTX in a Thursday hearing, during which a top regulator acknowledged that he met with former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried on multiple occasions.
FTX recently filed for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/30-year-old-billionaire-loses-entire-fortune-overnight-as-his-bahamas-based-cryptocurrency-empire-implodes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bankruptcy</a> after users discovered that trading firm Alameda Research, a company run by Caroline Ellison — a former love interest of Bankman-Fried, had allegedly been using consumer funds from FTX to make investments.
During the hearing held by the committee, which was attended virtually by The Daily Wire, lawmakers repeatedly pushed the need for regulation through the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, a piece of legislation that would <a href="https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/dccpa_fact_sheet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eliminate</a> conflicts of interest and extend other protections to the cryptocurrency sector.
Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) emphasized that the committee should consider the regulation of cryptocurrencies because of the entity’s responsibility to execute “oversight of the nation’s commodity markets.” He said that digital assets such as bitcoin are regulated as commodities, a reality that federal courts have broadly recognized.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam, a former senior counselor to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and the sole regulator offering testimony, told lawmakers in his opening <a href="https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTestimony/opabehnam29" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that “nominal barriers to entry for new products and new consumers” in the cryptocurrency market have “taken the place of legitimate market forces” and placed the public at “significant risk.” He expressed support for the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act as a step in the right direction toward regulating the industry.
“For years many have recognized that a patchwork of federal and state-based regulation is an unsuitable substitute for a comprehensive approach,” he remarked. “We are here today because many Americans invested in a novel product and will likely lose money because digital asset markets lack the basic protections that we have all come to expect and have made American financial markets the envy of the world.”
LedgerX, a derivatives platform acquired by FTX last year, had extensive communication with the CFTC regarding the company’s push to become a registered derivatives clearinghouse. Behnam said that he personally met with Bankman-Fried 10 times over the past 14 months to discuss the application out of a “dogged desire” to ensure that the initiative would be properly scrutinized.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a co-sponsor of the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, denied that Bankman-Fried had an undue influence over the bill.
Bankman-Fried, a top <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-dont-even-know-how-to-code-mit-grad-and-now-broke-crypto-ceo-sam-bankman-fried-tells-niche-vlogger" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contributor</a> to Democratic and Republican campaigns, has repeatedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sam-bankman-fried-denies-wrongdoing-in-ftx-implosion-during-live-streamed-new-york-times-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insisted</a> that he did not intentionally commingle funds between FTX and Alameda Research. The disgraced entrepreneur attempted with little success to raise as much as $8 billion from new investors to reimburse defrauded users of the company, which is based in the Bahamas.
FTX had received stellar corporate governance ratings from agencies considering the venture’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) qualifications, even though Bankman-Fried later admitted that his professed status as an “effective altruist” was largely a ruse to win the trust of “woke westerners.” Behnam expressed openness to discussing regulations upon ESG ratings in the cryptocurrency space when pressed on the matter by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).
FTX spent extensively to recruit <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tom-brady-steph-curry-other-celebrities-sued-for-pushing-ponzi-scheme-ftx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">celebrity brand ambassadors</a>, such as Tampa Bay Buccanneers quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel ex-wife Gisele Bündchen, many of whom participated in mass-market advertisements. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) asserted that such marketing efforts stoke “fears of missing out” among unwitting consumers, prompting Behnam to remark that advertisements must ensure “investors understand the risk of the underlying asset.”
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) noted that the use of cryptocurrency to support <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-attorneys-bust-crypto-money-laundering-ring" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criminal enterprises</a> has enabled the fentanyl crisis and other national security concerns, asking whether a pause on the digital asset sector in the United States would be feasible. Behnam noted that a significant number of Americans would nevertheless gain access to overseas cryptocurrency markets.

Senate Hearing Examines FTX Collapse

Top Commodities Regulator Tells Senators He Met With Sam Bankman-Fried 10 Times

Senators Call For New Regulations At FTX Collapse Hearing; Top Regulator Said He Met With Sam Bankman-Fried 10 Times

Amy Klobuchar

Cryptocurrency

Debbie Stabenow

Sam Bankman-Fried

Senate

Tommy Tuberville

Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said that Democrats still have a chance to hold the U.S. Senate.
Appearing on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/booker-concedes-tough-election-season-sees-pathway-democrats/story?id=92711024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This Week</a>&#8221; Sunday, Booker claimed that Democrats are &#8220;bucking&#8221; the historical trend in which a first-term president&#8217;s party usually loses in the midterm elections. Democrats have been pushing those talking points in recent days as Republicans are relying on public polling to advance an alternative narrative.
&#8220;The party in the White House usually loses during midterms but the reality is we still have a very strong pathway,&#8221; Booker said. &#8220;Not just to keeping the Senate but really picking up seats in&#8230; Pennsylvania and in places like Wisconsin and North Carolina. This election still is in the ballots. And the reality is we’re bucking what are usual trends.&#8221;
&#8220;I think that this is a tough election season,&#8221; Booker continued. &#8220;It’s a midterm election. But I still see a pathway for us to maintain control of the Senate.&#8221;
When asked how Democrats could win, Booker said it would happen if they showed up at the polls and vote. &#8220;It happens by voter turnout,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I mean, when I&#8217;m going around the country, I see a lot of enthusiasm, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to translate that to people getting out.&#8221;
Democratic Senate Majority Leader <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chuck-schumer-democrats-will-hold-the-senate-and-maybe-even-pick-up-seats-in-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chuck Schumer</a> said the same thing in an interview with the Associated Press last week. “It’s tight,” Schumer said. “I believe Democrats will hold the Senate and maybe even pick up seats.”
“I don’t want to give the illusion that these are all slam dunks,” he continued, but “[t]he fact that we’re in the ballpark and our Democratic candidates are defying the political environment is a testament to a few things.”
“[Voters] are seeing how extreme these Republican candidates are, and they don’t like it. And second, they’re seeing the Democrats are talking to them on issues they care about, and that we’ve accomplished a great deal on things.”
Democratic activists and legacy media have recently attacked public polling, especially surveys that favor Republicans. After the New York Times released a series of polls showing Democrats in the lead in key battleground Senate races, leftist media personalities blasted those that found Republicans leading in those races, calling them &#8220;cheap&#8221; and &#8220;partisan&#8221; while accusing them of trying to manufacture a red wave.
“If you get past those headlines and dig a little deeper, you would uncover an insidious and seemingly intentional campaign from Republican-backed polling firms to flood the zone and tip the balance of polling averages in favor of their candidates, to create a narrative that Republicans are surging and that a red wave is imminent and inevitable,” MSNBC host <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2022/11/01/msnbcs_joy_reid_republicans_are_trying_to_flood_the_zone_with_junk_polls_to_make_a_red_wave_look_inevitable.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joy Reid</a> said in a monologue on her show “The ReidOut” Monday.
“Most of the polling over the last few weeks is coming from partisan outfits — usually Republican — or auto-dial firms,” New York Times pollster <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/upshot/midterms-polls-senate-nyt.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nate Cohn</a> claimed in an editorial touting his own polling. “These polls are cheap enough to flood the zone, and many of them were emboldened by the 2020 election, when their final results came close to the election results even as other pollsters struggled.”

Senate Confirmation Hearing For Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson

Cory Booker Thinks Dems ‘Still Have A Very Strong Pathway’ To Hold The Senate, Add Seats In Midterms

Cory Booker Says Dems 'Still Have A Very Strong Pathway' To Hold The Senate, Add Seats In Midterms

2022 Midterms

Democrats

Elections

This Week

New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker said he was not hopeful that any major gun control legislation would be passed in the wake of recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.
Speaking on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Meet the Press&#8221; on Sunday, Booker said he supported whatever changes could be agreed upon at the federal level but was &#8220;under no illusion&#8221; that substantive changes would be made until a greater national movement emerged and pro-gun politicians were voted out of office.
&#8220;Whatever we can get done, if it saves a life it&#8217;s worth doing, and so my colleagues who are entering the bipartisan talks, I fully support that,&#8221; Booker said. &#8220;But I&#8217;m under no illusion that we are going to do the things that need to be done, that the majority of Americans overwhelmingly support, Republican and Democrat, that can create significant safety.&#8221;
&#8220;I return again and again, to how change is made in America,&#8221; he continued.
Booker pointed to the example of the 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, where four young girls were killed in one of the pivotal moments of the civil rights movement.
&#8220;The nation rallied, movement continued until we demanded change, and it was made,&#8221; Booker said. &#8220;And people who did not make the change&#8230;paid at the polls. Until that happens, we are going to see at best incremental change. But as far as a federal level, I&#8217;m not that hopeful.&#8221;
&#8220;This is not a one-move solution,&#8221; Booker continued. &#8220;There must be many things done&#8230;But I am sorry. We are at a point in this nation where we are going to have to mobilize a greater movement&#8230; Until the redemptive power of the love for all of our children is greater than the destructive power of the love of our guns, and money, and power, until that redemptive love of our children turns into action, then nothing is gonna change.&#8221;

Senators Continue Work On Capitol Hill

Cory Booker: ‘I’m Under No Illusion’ That Major Gun Control Laws Will Pass After Uvalde Shooting

Sen. Booker Expresses Doubt That Major Gun Control Laws Will Pass After Uvalde School Shooting

Gun Control

Mass Shooting

Meet the Press

School Shooting

Texas

Uvalde

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) brought himself — and Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson — to tears on Wednesday as he broke into an animated explanation of just how much her nomination meant to him.
Booker used a portion of his time during Jackson&#8217;s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee to wax on about the <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/who-is-ketanji-brown-jackson-everything-you-need-to-know-about-bidens-scotus-pick/">historic nature</a> of her nomination, excitedly telling her, &#8220;I&#8217;m not letting anybody in the Senate steal my joy!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;This country is getting better and better&#8230;When that final vote happens and you ascend onto the highest Court in the land, I&#39;m going to rejoice. And I&#39;m going to tell you right now, the greatest country in the world, the United States of America, will be better because of you.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/HLT3WnH3LU">pic.twitter.com/HLT3WnH3LU</a>
&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1506787377573875716?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I&#8217;m telling you right now,&#8221; Booker began, &#8220;I&#8217;m not letting anybody in the Senate steal my joy! I told you this at the beginning, I — I&#8217;m embarrassed &#8230; I just look at you, and I start getting full of emotion.&#8221;
The New Jersey Senator went on to tell a story about going for a run, saying that a black woman had approached him — in part, he believed, because of the role he would have in confirming Judge Jackson.
&#8220;I put my music on loud when I&#8217;m jogging, trying to block out the noise of the heart attack I&#8217;m having,&#8221; Booker said, prompting laughs. &#8220;And this woman comes up on me, practically tackles me, an African American woman. And the look on her eye, she just wanted to touch me, &#8217;cause I think — &#8217;cause I&#8217;m sitting so close to you — and tell me what it meant to her to watch you sitting where you&#8217;re sitting.&#8221;
Booker then touted Judge Jackson&#8217;s hard work and dedication, saying that she hadn&#8217;t achieved all she had because of a &#8220;Left-wing agenda&#8221; — and Jackson reached for her tissues.
&#8220;You got here how every black woman in America who&#8217;s gotten anywhere has done,&#8221; Booker continued, his voice cracking at times. &#8220;By being — like Ginger Rogers said, &#8216;I did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards in heels.&#8217; And so I&#8217;m just sitting here saying, &#8216;Nobody&#8217;s stealing my joy, nobody&#8217;s going to make me angry.'&#8221;
Booker then mentioned how he was treated when he arrived at the Capitol, being only the fourth black Senator in Washington. His voice wavered again when he explained the moment in the Oval Office when he tried to explain to President Joe Biden how much it affected him personally to see the first black woman nominated to the nation&#8217;s highest court.
&#8220;It’s hard for me not to look at you and not see my mom. Not to see my cousins, one of them who had to come here and sit behind you. She had to have your back. I see my ancestors and yours,&#8221; Booker said. &#8220;But don’t worry, my sister. Don’t worry. God has got you. And how do I know that? You’re here, and I know what it’s taken for you to sit in that seat.&#8221;
&#8220;You have earned this spot. You are worthy. You are a great American,&#8221; he added, in an apparent jab and critics who panned Biden for <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/ben-carson-slams-bidens-race-based-supreme-court-pledge-as-abominable-identity-politics/">making Jackson&#8217;s race and gender requirements</a> for her nomination.
&#8220;This country is getting better and better,&#8221; Booker concluded. &#8220;When that final vote happens and you ascend onto the highest Court in the land, I&#8217;m going to rejoice. And I&#8217;m going to tell you right now, the greatest country in the world, the United States of America, will be better because of you.&#8221;

Cory Booker Makes Himself — And Judge Jackson — Cry With Dramatic Outburst During Hearing

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Supreme Court

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) appeared to blamed unnamed maskless Republicans for several cases of COVID-19 in the United States Senate, among them Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). House Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) has also tested positive for the virus.
Stabenow spoke Monday with MSNBC&#8217;s Andrea Mitchell, and she argued that <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/averaging-one-covid-19-death-per-day-d-c-declares-state-of-emergency-and-new-mandates/">COVID-19</a> was spreading through the halls of Congress because of some Republicans who refuse to wear masks.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/SenStabenow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenStabenow</a> blames Republicans not wearing masks for Sens. Warren &amp; Booker catching Covid; “unfortunately, people on the Republican side, the majority are not [wearing masks], which is also frustrating.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/VktqqzeAup">pic.twitter.com/VktqqzeAup</a>
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1472993130840576007?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Very briefly, now, we&#8217;ve heard that Senators Warren and Booker both have had breakthrough cases,&#8221; Mitchell began. &#8220;Have you heard of any more cases? And what concerns do you have about the way the — protections against COVID in the Senate as you&#8217;ve all been working together so closely?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, we are working together closely,&#8221; Stabenow agreed, adding, &#8220;People on my side of the aisle are uniformly wearing masks, unfortunately, people on the Republican side, the majority are not, which is also frustrating — but I obviously send them my best. Thank goodness they have both been vaccinated and received a booster, which hopefully means that they will not have serious symptoms as a result of this.&#8221;
&#8220;That&#8217;s really what needs to happen, people need to get vaccinated, they need to protect themselves,&#8221; Stabenow continued. &#8220;We know that this new variant is extremely contagious and we also know that it is not that serious if you have been vaccinated and boosted. So, I would encourage everyone to do that as a Christmas present, as a holiday present for themselves and their families.&#8221;
<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/senator-cory-booker-tests-positive-for-covid-19/">Booker</a> announced Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 after feeling symptoms for about one day, saying that if he had not already received the vaccine and booster dose, he expected he would be feeling much worse.
&#8220;I learned today that I tested positive for COVID-19 after first feeling symptoms on Saturday. My symptoms are relatively mild. I’m beyond grateful to have received two doses of vaccine and, more recently, a booster – I’m certain that without them I would be doing much worse,&#8221; he said.
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I learned today that I tested positive for COVID-19 after first feeling symptoms on Saturday. My symptoms are relatively mild. I’m beyond grateful to have received two doses of vaccine and, more recently, a booster – I’m certain that without them I would be doing much worse.
— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBooker/status/1472722005657112578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/breaking-senator-warren-tests-positive-for-coronavirus/">Warren</a> also tested positive on Sunday — and like Booker, used her announcement to encourage others to get vaccinated and get a booster shot as soon as they were eligible to do so.
&#8220;I regularly test for COVID &amp; while I tested negative earlier this week, today I tested positive with a breakthrough case. Thankfully, I am only experiencing mild symptoms &amp; am grateful for the protection provided against serious illness that comes from being vaccinated &amp; boosted,&#8221; she tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I regularly test for COVID &amp; while I tested negative earlier this week, today I tested positive with a breakthrough case. Thankfully, I am only experiencing mild symptoms &amp; am grateful for the protection provided against serious illness that comes from being vaccinated &amp; boosted.
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/1472681405293293570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Democrats Discuss Plans To Ease Supply Chain Issues And Lower Prices

Debbie Stabenow Blames Maskless Republicans For Triple-Vaxxed COVID-Positive Booker And Warren

COVID

COVID-19 Vaccine

Elizabeth Warren

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) announced Sunday that he tested positive for COVID-19 even though he is fully vaccinated and has received a booster shot.
NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-elizabeth-warren-tests-positive-covid-breakthrough-case-n1286289?utm_source=facebook&amp;utm_medium=news_tab">reported</a> that Booker attributed his mild symptoms to his three vaccine doses.
“I learned today that I tested positive for COVID-19 after first feeling symptoms on Saturday. My symptoms are relatively mild. I’m beyond grateful to have received two doses of vaccine and, more recently, a booster – I’m certain that without them I would be doing much worse,” Booker tweeted.
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I learned today that I tested positive for COVID-19 after first feeling symptoms on Saturday. My symptoms are relatively mild. I’m beyond grateful to have received two doses of vaccine and, more recently, a booster – I’m certain that without them I would be doing much worse.
— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBooker/status/1472722005657112578?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
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NBC noted that while “it appears that the omicron variant of the coronavirus, believed to be a factor in the December wave, is more contagious and may increase the chances of breakthrough infections, vaccinated people generally seem to be experiencing symptoms no worse than when other variants broke through to inoculated patients.”
Omicron in general has been shown to have milder symptoms than other strains of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-senator-warren-tests-positive-for-coronavirus">reported</a>, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) also has a breakthrough case of COVID-19 and has been fully vaccinated along with a booster.
“I regularly test for COVID &amp; while I tested negative earlier this week, today I tested positive with a breakthrough case,” Warren tweeted on Sunday. “Thankfully, I am only experiencing mild symptoms &amp; am grateful for the protection provided against serious illness that comes from being vaccinated &amp; boosted.”
She added: “As cases increase across the country, I urge everyone who has not already done so to get the vaccine and the booster as soon as possible – together, we can save lives.”
NBC reported that while the number of cases have reached a record high in New York City, there are 97% fewer hospitalizations compared to the pandemic’s peak in 2020.
The Daily Wire recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/people-who-get-covid-after-full-vaccination-have-super-immunity-antibodies-rise-up-to-2000-study">noted</a> that people who end up getting a breakthrough infection of COVID-19 have a “super immunity,” with massively increased antibodies. From The Daily Wire:
<blockquote>Breakthrough cases are now more common as virus variants Delta and Omicron sweep across the nation, but researchers from Oregon Health &amp; Science University (OHSU) have found that such cases lead to “super immunity” to future SARS-CoV-2 variants.
“You can’t get a better immune response than this,” says senior author Fikadu Tafesse, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular microbiology and immunology in the OHSU School of Medicine, in a university <a href="https://news.ohsu.edu/2021/12/16/breakthrough-infections-generate-super-immunity-to-covid-19-study-suggests">release</a>. “These vaccines are very effective against severe disease. Our study suggests that individuals who are vaccinated and then exposed to a breakthrough infection have super immunity.”
The study found that “antibodies measured in blood samples of breakthrough cases were both more abundant and much more effective – as much as 1,000% more effective – than antibodies generated two weeks following the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The study suggests each exposure following vaccination actually serves to strengthen immune response to subsequent exposures even to new variants of the virus,” OHSU said in its release.
Tafesse said the level of immunity is “sometimes up to 2,000 percent, so it’s really high immunity.”</blockquote>

Meet the Press – Season 74

Senator Cory Booker Tests Positive For COVID-19

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and fifteen other Democratic Senators want to give $1,000 to every American child every year until they reach adulthood.
The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/222/text?r=68&amp;s=1">American Opportunity Accounts Act</a> — reintroduced by Booker in January — would give each American child $1,000 in “Baby Bonds” at birth. Depending on household income, the child’s interest-bearing account would receive up to $2,000 annually, which could be accessed at age eighteen for buying a home, starting a business, or paying for college.
While children from disadvantaged families could see their accounts reach nearly $50,000 in value, children from wealthy families would only end up with a total of $1,600 by their eighteenth birthday.
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In a country as wealthy as ours, every person should have access to economic opportunity and the chance to build assets and create wealth. That’s why we need to pass Baby Bonds which would help level the playing field and close the growing wealth gap in our country.
&mdash; Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBooker/status/1402988775089655809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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As CNBC reports, the plan could <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/23/baby-bonds-the-60-billion-plan-to-give-every-american-baby-1000-.html">cost</a> the federal government between $60 billion and $80 billion.
Among the bill’s cosponsors are Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Similar legislation in the House is endorsed by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA).
“To truly ‘build back better’ our economy, we cannot ignore the extreme and persistent wealth inequality that deprives kids of economic opportunity right out of the gate,” said Booker in a <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/growing-momentum-for-baby-bonds-as-booker-pressley-re-introduce-landmark-legislation-to-combat-the-growing-racial-wealth-gap">press release</a>. “Baby Bonds will start to level the playing field. In a country as wealthy as ours, every person should have access to economic opportunity and the chance to build assets and create wealth.”
“The racial wealth gap in my district and across the country is stark and only getting worse, exacerbating inequities and denying far too many people of color an opportunity to thrive,” said Pressley. “These disparities are the direct result of generations of policy violence exacted against Black and brown communities, so we must be every bit as intentional in advancing policies that center racial and economic justice — policies like Baby Bonds.”
Booker likewise stresses the racial impact of his legislation.
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It’s past time we make meaningful strides toward closing the racial wealth gap in this country. Baby bonds can help get this done. <a href="https://t.co/qTFhS01RZl">pic.twitter.com/qTFhS01RZl</a>
&mdash; Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBooker/status/1367104975109693446?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The “Baby Bonds” proposal — which Booker wanted to <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-pressley-urge-biden-administration-to-include-baby-bonds-in-the-next-economic-recovery-package">include</a> in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/comparing-trump-and-bidens-covid-relief-bills">American Rescue Plan</a> — is one of many Democratic policy proposals that would increase the federal government’s involvement in children’s lives.
Most recently, President Biden’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-american-families-plan-is-far-from-a-new-deal-economic-boon">American Families Plan</a> proposed $426 billion for universal pre-kindergarten and $493 billion on family and childcare initiatives, as well as $299 billion on free community college and $117 billion on other education projects.
The American Rescue Plan created a “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-biden-says-child-tax-credits-will-hit-americans-bank-accounts-starting-this-summer">Child Tax Credit</a>” through which most American families will earn at least $250 per month.

Presidential Candidates Attend Town Hall Hosted By Formerly Incarcerated People

‘Baby Bonds’: Cory Booker Wants To Give Every American Child Up To $2,000 Per Year Until They’re 18

Economics

On Sunday, Senator Cory Booker told CNN’s Dana Bash that he definitely wanted to end qualified immunity for police officers in America, adding, “We have a crisis of policing in America.”
“Senator, is ending qualified immunity for individual officers a red line for you, or do you agree with what you just heard Congressman Clyburn say?” Bash asked.
“Well, what I agree with what he said is that we need to at some point get qualified immunity,” Booker answered. “It&#8217;s what I&#8217;m determined at this negotiating table to get. And these are labels that a lot of folks don&#8217;t know what they mean. This means that, in the United States of America, any profession that &#8212; where you violate in a serious way the civil rights of another American, should someone be shielded?”
“This is not about going after good officers,” he continued. “This is about when officers have breached the civil rights of another American citizen. And, to me, we need this to create real accountability. So, I&#8217;m at the negotiating table fighting for that. We have to have a nation where, when you do wrong — again, not the good officers, but when folks have done wrong, violated someone&#8217;s fundamental, constitutionally protected rights, that there is not a shield in the judicial system, but true accountability, where they are not above the law, but are held accountable by it.”
“I hear you that you&#8217;re fighting for that at the negotiating table right now. But is it possible that you&#8217;re willing to have less than in order to get the broader bill and fight that fight another day?” Bash reiterated.
“Again, I&#8217;m not negotiating this in public,” Booker replied. “I have said where my line is. We wrote a bill with Senator, now Vice President Harris in the Senate, along with our House allies, Karen Bass, Congressman Nadler, that said very clearly we want to eliminate qualified immunity. And that is where we&#8217;re starting clearly.”
He added later, “We have a crisis of policing in America.”
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At the end of April, Detroit’s Police Chief, James Craig, ripped into the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and its intent to eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement, snapping, “This will decimate policing as we know it. This is a veiled attempt, I think, at dismantling policing.”
Craig was interviewed by Newsmax’s Rachel Rollar, who asked about the Floyd bill, asking if it would be passed.
“You know, I’ve got to tell you where I have a real problem: the whole issue of qualified immunity,” Craig answered. “That is a deal-breaker. (GOP South Carolina Senator) Tim Scott, what he put on the table was appropriate; it was a balancing act. We know how important it is that police officers who engage in criminal misconduct should be held accountable. That would be the exemption. But when you talk about civil lawsuits, this will decimate policing as we know it. This is a veiled attempt, I think, at dismantling policing because here’s what I know, all the way from my seat down: who’s going to want to serve in law enforcement when there’s no protection. I’ve talked to my colleagues in other cities; look at what’s happening in New York right now; retirements and resignation rates have skyrocketed.”
“So this vocal minority is not speaking for people who live in vulnerable communities,” he commented. “That’s what the problem is today with everything that’s going on; they’re voiceless.  These folks want good, effective, constitutional policing. The vast majority of the men and women who serve each and every day do it right, and the profession shouldn’t be painted with a broad brush.”
He concluded, “But if they remove qualified immunity, there’s going to be a mass exodus and policing will look like it looks now. They’re already trying to take traffic stops away. Knee-jerk reactions. So, ‘let’s not stop anybody anymore.’ The mayor of Brooklyn Center said, ‘Well, if they must stop someone let’s use police officers that are not armed.’ There’s no such thing as a ‘routine traffic stop.’”
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Detroit&#39;s Police Chief reacts to what he&#39;s seeing happen to law enforcement departments across the country: <a href="https://t.co/XtIrKtj7G7">https://t.co/XtIrKtj7G7</a>
&mdash; NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) <a href="https://twitter.com/NEWSMAX/status/1387411287785738241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Presidential Candidates Attend The California Democratic Party Organizing Convention

WATCH: Cory Booker: ‘We Want To Eliminate Qualified Immunity’ For Police

Police

During Monday&#8217;s confirmation <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?508877-2/attorney-general-nominee-merrick-garland-testifies-confirmation-hearing-part-2&amp;live&amp;vod&amp;start=5038">hearing</a> before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland was asked about systemic racism. Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey asked Garland about his views regarding mass incarceration and inherent bias in the criminal justice system.
Booker began by describing the &#8220;Micah Mandate,&#8221; which he explained as &#8220;do justice, love mercy&#8230;and walk humbly.&#8221; He quoted an activist-theologian he has read, who says, &#8220;What does love look like in public? It looks like justice.&#8221;
Booker continued, telling Garland, &#8220;You have, to me, one of the most important positions on planet earth for trying to create a more just society&#8230;I want to talk to you about white supremacist violence&#8230;but before I get there, I am actually concerned with something that I consider pernicious and very difficult to root out, which is the realities of implicit racial bias that lead to larger systemic racism.&#8221;
Booker then asked Garland directly, &#8220;Does our justice system treat people equally in this country at this point?&#8221;
Garland responded, &#8220;Sadly, and — it is plain to me it does not.&#8221;
He continued, &#8220;There is no question that there is disparate treatment in our justice system. Mass incarceration is a very good example of this problem. We are incarcerating 25 — almost 25% of the world&#8217;s population and we have something like 5% of the world&#8217;s population. I don&#8217;t think that is because Americans are worse. What belies that is the disparate treatment of blacks and communities of color.&#8221;
Booker went on to discuss marijuana arrests in the country, saying that the likelihood of an African-American &#8220;being arrested for doing things that two of the last four presidents admitted to doing is three to four times higher than somebody white.&#8221;
Booker asked, &#8220;Is that evidence that within the system there is implicit racial bias? Yes or no?&#8221;
Garland said that it was &#8220;definitely evidence of disparate treatment,&#8221; saying that this treatment arises out of implicit bias. Garland made the point to say that this might be unconscious bias or conscious bias.
Booker clarified later, saying that the disparate treatment of people of color &#8220;does not mean that the people who are engaged in this are racist&#8230;it means that they have an implicit racist bias that leads them to make different decisions about people.&#8221;
Booker later asked, &#8220;My question to you now is, assuming this position where you were called upon for that &#8216;Micah Mandate,&#8217; what are you going to do about this outrageous injustice that persists and infects our society with such a toll on black and brown communities?&#8221;
Garland said, &#8220;there are many things that the justice department has to do in this regard. I completely agree that disparate results with respect to wealth accumulation, discrimination in employment, discrimination in housing, discrimination in healthcare availability, all of which we all see now in the consequences of a pandemic which affects communities of color enormously more.”
&#8220;One set of things we can do is the mass incarceration example,” he continued. “We can focus our attention on violent crimes and other crimes that put great danger in our society and not allocate our resources to something like marijuana possession. We can look at our charging policies and stop charging the highest possible offense with the highest possible sentence.&#8221;
Booker closed by asking Garland about his personal story and how that has affected his aspirations.
Garland became emotional, describing his grandparents&#8217; history of fleeing anti-semitism and persecution. He said that the United States &#8220;took us in — and protected us. And I feel an obligation to the country to pay back. This is the highest, best use of my own set of skills to pay back. And so I want very much to be the kind of Attorney General that you&#8217;re saying I could become. I&#8217;ll do my best to try to be that kind of Attorney General.&#8221;

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Cory Booker Asks Attorney General Nominee Merrick Garland About Systemic Racism

Merrick Garland

Systemic Racism

We are all created equal. We are all endowed with God-given rights. These promises — which are enshrined in our nation’s founding documents — form the bedrock of our nation and have made America the beacon of liberty throughout the world.
Many of us across this great country are people of faith. For us, faith is the source of our desire to serve others and uphold these promises in our Constitution. We know that they give us the freedom to live out our faith in the service of others. And we also know that, if those promises from the Constitution are broken for any one of us, they are broken for all of us.
Our legal system’s purpose is to keep these promises, to protect our inalienable rights, and to ensure that everyone is treated equally under the law. So we must have judges who consistently hold us to these ideals and apply the law as it is, not how they would like it to be.
Sadly, there are many today who take a different view of the law, and who seem to have forgotten about these promises in our Constitution. They don’t believe that a person of faith can also be a faithful judge.
Take, Sen. Kamala Harris’s attacks on Brian Buescher, a federal judicial nominee, for his involvement in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic charitable organization with millions of members. The organization holds to Catholic doctrine on the sanctity of life and marriage, views which Harris described as “extreme.” She voted to reject Buescher’s appointment as a judge.
Sen. Cory Booker questioned the ability of Neomi Rao, another judicial nominee, to impartially apply the law if she supported her faith’s teaching about marriage.* He voted to reject Rao’s appointment as a judge.
And perhaps most famously, Sen. Dianne Feinstein attacked Amy Coney Barrett for her devout Catholic faith during confirmation hearings for her appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, telling her, “The dogma lives loudly within you. And that’s of concern.”
She, too, voted to reject Barrett’s appointment as a judge.
Their position is clear: These senators will not permit certain people of faith to serve our nation unless those people bow to the senators’ political ideology. And they will impose a religious test to stop anyone who disagrees with them from joining the bench.
Our Constitution promises the God-given right of religious freedom to every American, guaranteeing the free exercise of religion. Article VI of the Constitution says, “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
Though penned with quill and ink, the message in these words is timeless and very clear: Public officeholders, including judges, should never be maligned or disqualified because of their religious convictions.
President John F. Kennedy memorably warned that this type of religious discrimination contradicts who we are as a nation: “For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew or a Quaker or a Unitarian or a Baptist.… Today I may be the victim, but tomorrow it may be you — until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped apart at a time of great national peril.”
We must reject religious bigotry and hold ourselves to a higher standard. Let’s be a nation that measures judges by their fidelity to the Constitution, not by their religious beliefs. Let’s never tell someone they are disqualified from public service because of their faith.
Let us work together to fulfill our Constitution’s promise of true freedom and true equality for all.
*A previous version of this article incorrectly identified Rao as Catholic. 
Kristen Waggoner is general counsel for <a href="http://www.adflegal.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.adflegal.org&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603311670036000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEeuti0EYnX1nJ7LGig5izxCAbMBA">Alliance Defending Freedom</a>. Follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/KWaggonerADF" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/KWaggonerADF&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603311670036000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEFjH-KX9mBOLP3aqeC0C2rBDqUug">@KWaggonerADF</a> and follow Alliance Defending Freedom <a href="https://twitter.com/AllianceDefends" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/AllianceDefends&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603311670036000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGzzYFMa3CG6Bjr-81uk-4q5wTyFQ">@AllianceDefends</a>. 
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author&#8217;s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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