section_path: U.S. Senate/Tenure
section_name: Tenure
paragraph_text: Tenure
  
  In November 2013, Booker co-sponsored and voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. In December 2013, he was one of the original cosponsors of Bob Menéndez 's Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013, which would toughen sanctions against Iran. He also voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. In January 2014, he cosponsored the Respect for Marriage Act. In February 2014, Booker voted against the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013. In March, Booker pledged to meet with each of his Republican colleagues in the Senate in order to find common ground, and was spotted having dinner with Senator Ted Cruz in Washington.
  
  Leading up to the 2016 presidential election, Booker endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. He was considered a potential vice-presidential candidate during the primary and as the general election began, though he said on June 16 that he was not being vetted. After the election, in which Donald Trump defeated Clinton, Booker testified on January 11, 2017, against attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions, the first instance of a sitting senator testifying against another during a cabinet position confirmation hearing.
  
  Booker supported fellow New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez when Menendez faced trial on federal corruption and bribery charges. During the trial, Booker was a character witness for Menendez, and praised him effusively. After the judge declared a mistrial, Booker argued that prosecutors ought not to try Menendez again. When Menendez ran for reelection, Booker said he was "so grateful for Bob Menendez and that I get to work with him and stand beside him". He downplayed the corruption allegations, saying "to try to continue to try to throw this kind of mud at him, it's not going to stick. It didn't stick when the government tried to do it and it should not stick now." He became New Jersey's senior senator after Menendez resigned on August 20, 2024.
  
  In 2018, Politico named Booker part of the "Hell-No Caucus", along with Senators Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders, after he voted "overwhelmingly to thwart his nominees for administration jobs" (including Rex Tillerson, Betsy DeVos, and Mike Pompeo). The senators were all considered potential 2020 presidential contenders, and all five later launched 2020 presidential campaigns, losing in the primary to Joe Biden, who then chose Harris as his running mate.
  
  In April 2018, after the FBI raided the hotel room and offices of Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, Booker, Chris Coons, Lindsey Graham, and Thom Tillis introduced new legislation to "limit President Trump's ability to fire special counsel Robert Mueller." Termed the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, the legislation would allow any special counsel, in this case Mueller, to receive an "expedited judicial review" in the 10 days following being dismissed to determine if said dismissal was suitable. If not, the special counsel would be reinstated. At the same time, according to The Hill, the bill would "codify regulations" that a special counsel could be fired by only a senior Justice Department official, while having to provide reasons in writing.
  
  On September 5, 2018, during the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh (nominated by Trump to replace retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court), Booker questioned Kavanaugh on a series of emails marked "committee confidential" dating to Kavanaugh's time in the office of the White House Counsel during George W. Bush 's presidency. The emails, which Booker's office released to the public the next day, show Kavanaugh and others in the Counsel's office discussing racial profiling as a means to combat terrorism, particularly after 9/11. Booker said that he was violating Senate rules in releasing the documents, with the penalty including possible expulsion from the Senate; he nonetheless defended his decision, referring to the process of producing documents for the hearing as a "sham" and challenging those who warned him about the consequences to "bring it on". Booker also described the release as "probably the closest I'll ever have in my life to an 'I am Spartacus' moment", referring to a line in the 1960 film Spartacus. Committee chairman Chuck Grassley said the documents had already been cleared for public release the night before, and that Booker was not violating any rules, leading some Republicans to accuse Booker of engaging in "theatrics" and "histrionics". Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas mocked Booker in comments the following week, saying, "Honorable—if we could use that word about more people who are in public life, people who actually ask the questions at confirmation hearings, instead of 'Spartacus. ' " Booker was also one of several Democratic lawmakers and critics of President Trump who was targeted with a mailed pipe bomb.
  
  Booker played a leading role in the push to pass the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill. In 2018, he introduced the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize cannabis in the United States on the federal level, defund some law enforcement in jurisdictions that have shown racial bias in marijuana arrests, and increase funding to communities affected by the war on drugs.
  
  Booker announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 election on February 1, 2019.
  
  Booker was participating in the certification of the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Minutes after rioters breached the Capitol, Booker and his fellow senators were evacuated from the chambers. Booker blamed Trump for inciting the attack. After the attack, Booker called for the invocation of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution while writing on Twitter: "Trump incited a violent insurrection against our own government. Congress should be prepared to impeach & remove the President if the Vice President and Cabinet fail to adhere to their constitutional duty. We must protect our national security."
  
  On March 31, 2025, Booker began a marathon speech, vowing to speak "for as long as I am physically able". Before taking the stand at 7 p.m. EDT, he posted a video explaining his rationale for the speech, saying that he had heard his constituents and those in other states asking Congress to "do things that recognize the... crisis of the moment" regarding changes made by the Trump administration. Booker gave the longest speech in U.S. Senate history, surpassing Strom Thurmond 's 24-hour-and-18 minute-long filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. He said: "To hate him is wrong, and maybe my ego got too caught up in if I stood here maybe, maybe—just maybe—I could break this record of the man who tried to stop the rights upon which I stand.... I'm not here, though, because of his speech. I'm here despite his speech. I'm here because as powerful as he was, the people were more powerful." Booker's address was 25 hours and five minutes long.
  
  In May 2025, Booker was the only Democrat to vote to confirm Charles Kushner as United States Ambassador to France. According to the New Jersey Globe, "Booker and Kushner have a relationship that goes back decades, dating to when Kushner provided financial support for Booker's first unsuccessful run for mayor in 2002."
  
  In November 2013, Booker co-sponsored and voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. In December 2013, he was one of the original cosponsors of Bob Menéndez 's Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013, which would toughen sanctions against Iran. He also voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. In January 2014, he cosponsored the Respect for Marriage Act. In February 2014, Booker voted against the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013. In March, Booker pledged to meet with each of his Republican colleagues in the Senate in order to find common ground, and was spotted having dinner with Senator Ted Cruz in Washington.
  
  Leading up to the 2016 presidential election, Booker endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. He was considered a potential vice-presidential candidate during the primary and as the general election began, though he said on June 16 that he was not being vetted. After the election, in which Donald Trump defeated Clinton, Booker testified on January 11, 2017, against attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions, the first instance of a sitting senator testifying against another during a cabinet position confirmation hearing.
  
  Booker supported fellow New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez when Menendez faced trial on federal corruption and bribery charges. During the trial, Booker was a character witness for Menendez, and praised him effusively. After the judge declared a mistrial, Booker argued that prosecutors ought not to try Menendez again. When Menendez ran for reelection, Booker said he was "so grateful for Bob Menendez and that I get to work with him and stand beside him". He downplayed the corruption allegations, saying "to try to continue to try to throw this kind of mud at him, it's not going to stick. It didn't stick when the government tried to do it and it should not stick now." He became New Jersey's senior senator after Menendez resigned on August 20, 2024.
  
  In 2018, Politico named Booker part of the "Hell-No Caucus", along with Senators Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders, after he voted "overwhelmingly to thwart his nominees for administration jobs" (including Rex Tillerson, Betsy DeVos, and Mike Pompeo). The senators were all considered potential 2020 presidential contenders, and all five later launched 2020 presidential campaigns, losing in the primary to Joe Biden, who then chose Harris as his running mate.
  
  In April 2018, after the FBI raided the hotel room and offices of Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, Booker, Chris Coons, Lindsey Graham, and Thom Tillis introduced new legislation to "limit President Trump's ability to fire special counsel Robert Mueller." Termed the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, the legislation would allow any special counsel, in this case Mueller, to receive an "expedited judicial review" in the 10 days following being dismissed to determine if said dismissal was suitable. If not, the special counsel would be reinstated. At the same time, according to The Hill, the bill would "codify regulations" that a special counsel could be fired by only a senior Justice Department official, while having to provide reasons in writing.
  
  On September 5, 2018, during the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh (nominated by Trump to replace retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court), Booker questioned Kavanaugh on a series of emails marked "committee confidential" dating to Kavanaugh's time in the office of the White House Counsel during George W. Bush 's presidency. The emails, which Booker's office released to the public the next day, show Kavanaugh and others in the Counsel's office discussing racial profiling as a means to combat terrorism, particularly after 9/11. Booker said that he was violating Senate rules in releasing the documents, with the penalty including possible expulsion from the Senate; he nonetheless defended his decision, referring to the process of producing documents for the hearing as a "sham" and challenging those who warned him about the consequences to "bring it on". Booker also described the release as "probably the closest I'll ever have in my life to an 'I am Spartacus' moment", referring to a line in the 1960 film Spartacus. Committee chairman Chuck Grassley said the documents had already been cleared for public release the night before, and that Booker was not violating any rules, leading some Republicans to accuse Booker of engaging in "theatrics" and "histrionics". Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas mocked Booker in comments the following week, saying, "Honorable—if we could use that word about more people who are in public life, people who actually ask the questions at confirmation hearings, instead of 'Spartacus. ' " Booker was also one of several Democratic lawmakers and critics of President Trump who was targeted with a mailed pipe bomb.
  
  Booker played a leading role in the push to pass the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill. In 2018, he introduced the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize cannabis in the United States on the federal level, defund some law enforcement in jurisdictions that have shown racial bias in marijuana arrests, and increase funding to communities affected by the war on drugs.
  
  Booker announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 election on February 1, 2019.
  
  Booker was participating in the certification of the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Minutes after rioters breached the Capitol, Booker and his fellow senators were evacuated from the chambers. Booker blamed Trump for inciting the attack. After the attack, Booker called for the invocation of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution while writing on Twitter: "Trump incited a violent insurrection against our own government. Congress should be prepared to impeach & remove the President if the Vice President and Cabinet fail to adhere to their constitutional duty. We must protect our national security."
  
  On March 31, 2025, Booker began a marathon speech, vowing to speak "for as long as I am physically able". Before taking the stand at 7 p.m. EDT, he posted a video explaining his rationale for the speech, saying that he had heard his constituents and those in other states asking Congress to "do things that recognize the... crisis of the moment" regarding changes made by the Trump administration. Booker gave the longest speech in U.S. Senate history, surpassing Strom Thurmond 's 24-hour-and-18 minute-long filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. He said: "To hate him is wrong, and maybe my ego got too caught up in if I stood here maybe, maybe—just maybe—I could break this record of the man who tried to stop the rights upon which I stand.... I'm not here, though, because of his speech. I'm here despite his speech. I'm here because as powerful as he was, the people were more powerful." Booker's address was 25 hours and five minutes long.
  
  In May 2025, Booker was the only Democrat to vote to confirm Charles Kushner as United States Ambassador to France. According to the New Jersey Globe, "Booker and Kushner have a relationship that goes back decades, dating to when Kushner provided financial support for Booker's first unsuccessful run for mayor in 2002."