So far, Booker has released 75 Kavanaugh-related documents that were at one point deemed committee confidential. 6 panel after revelation of texts to Meadows MORE ’s nominee. They are likely to fail on the latter, as Republicans hold a majority in the Senate it is also possible a handful of Democratic centrists will vote for President Trump Donald Trump House Democrats pass bill to combat Islamophobia in support of Omar House votes to hold defiant Meadows in criminal contempt Hannity, Ingraham knock Jan. “More of it is are we getting material marked classified because they don’t want the public to see it?” Tester said.ĭemocrats have been fighting an uphill battle on Kavanaugh, both to obtain documents related to his government work in the Bush administration and to stop his confirmation.
Jon Tester Jonathan (Jon) Tester Manchin convenes bipartisan group to talk Senate rules reform Democrats work to sell Senate referee on Biden spending bill Failed watchdog nomination angers progressives MORE (D-Mont.) said “the theatrics of all this doesn’t matter to me.” “Senators say things all the time that are funny, whatever,” he said.Ī Senate Democratic aide, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about Booker, said there was some eye-rolling among Senate Democrats over Booker’s dramatic rhetoric.īut the aide praised Booker for “breaking through” in a hearing where not much news was made.Īsked about Booker’s “Spartacus moment,” Sen. He shrugged off the mockery of recent days: “I can laugh along with other people.” “I’m very grateful that my colleagues in that committee hearing stood up and said, ‘Whatever becomes of Cory, I’m doing this too,’” he added. He said he was instead trying to shine a light on the bravery of Democratic colleagues who stood with him in solidarity. I’m not going to comment on that,” Booker said when asked about Thomas’s comments while the Showtime crew was filming him outside his office. Speaking in an interview aired by C-SPAN, the conservative justice faulted Booker and other Democrats on the Judiciary panel for trying to score “points,” look “cute" and earn television time.īooker has been a bit of a punching bag for the media, with John Kass of The Chicago Tribune calling the “Spartacus bit” an “epic fail” and New York Times columnist Gail Collins writing that “Booker demonstrated that it was possible to go too far in being fearsome when he made some allegedly confidential Kavanaugh records public and compared himself to Spartacus for his daring.”Īsked if he intended to compare himself with Spartacus, Booker replied pointedly, “No."īooker declined to respond to Thomas’s criticism about his Spartacus remark. Justice Clarence Thomas, one of the most tight-lipped members of the Supreme Court, complained that the senator’s theatrics undermined the dignity of the confirmation process. Bush administration, for which Kavanaugh worked, had already released the documents in question.
In the famous movie in which Kirk Douglas portrays Spartacus, rebel slaves all claim to be Spartacus to shield their leader from punishment.īooker has been teased by conservatives for the comparison, in part because a lawyer representing the George W. “This is about the closest I’ll probably have in my life to an ‘I am Spartacus’ moment,” Booker said during the tense Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, seemingly drawing comparison with the slave who led an uprising against the Roman Empire. The moment came after Booker released documents related to Kavanaugh’s confirmation that had once been deemed "committee confidential." Booker did so under threat from Senate Republicans, who said he was breaking Senate rules by releasing the documents.
Dick Durbin Dick Durbin Democrats work to sell Senate referee on Biden spending bill Democrats don't think Manchin wants Biden agenda vote by Christmas Senate panel advances bill making federal judiciary's e-record system free MORE (Ill.), the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate. “In fact I think Durbin said, 'If you throw him into the pit, I want to be in the pit with you,'” Booker added, referring to Sen. “After I was threatened with expulsion and had my character challenged, I was very happy that colleague after colleague after colleague stepped up,” Booker said. A film crew with Showtime’s “The Circus” camped in the hallway outside Booker’s office on Thursday to shoot an impromptu interview with him. Booker certainly gained attention with his theatrics.