Dems stage 12-hour 'moral moment' at US Capitol, rejecting Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'

Sen Cory Booker D-N J and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries D-N Y staged a sit-in on the policies of the U S Capitol on Sunday taking a moral moment to reject President Donald Trump's agenda as Congress returns to Washington to negotiate the big beautiful bill On the final day of the two-week congressional recess Booker and Jeffries discussed their relationship with faith invited Americans to share their experience of Trump's first days and sounded off on what s at stake with Trump s budget The sit-in's hours-long livestream had amassed hundreds of thousands of views on X and YouTube Instead of church on Sunday the Democratic leaders opted for a sacred civic space outside the Capitol for more than hours Activists and politicians joined the Democrats throughout the day including American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten Sen Amy Klobuchar D-Minn and Sen Raphael Warnock D-Ga This is how we will stop cuts to Medicaid this is how we will stop Trump and congressional Republicans' devastating agenda this is how we will rise Booker disclosed on X at the end of the sit-in TRUMP KICKS OFF WHIRLWIND WEEK MARKING HIS TH DAY BACK IN THE OVAL OFFICEDemocrats have been warning Americans about Trump's ambitious budget bill since he was elected in November claiming his budget cuts will threaten funding for entitlement programs like Social Prevention Medicaid and Medicare The Trump administration has maintained that no cuts will be made to those services despite the anticipated trillion in spending reductions and extension of Trump's tax cuts WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT SENATOR BOOKER'S OVERNIGHT SPEECHAs Congress returns to session this week committees begin mark-ups on the budget framework passed by both the House and Senate before recess with plans to finalize bill by Memorial Day Trump added pressure to the negotiations on Sunday posting on Truth Social that it is a crucial week for the budget bill which will contain Massive Tax Cuts Strong Boundary Assurance Measures Major Military Advancements Dramatic Deregulation Powerful Spending Reforms and more IT MUST BE DONE We will unleash Economic Prosperity and accelerate into the Golden Age of America Trump mentioned of his big beautiful bill However Democrats have a drastically different depiction of Trump's vision for the country and the -hour livestream on the Capitol procedures covered their laundry list of concerns everything from Department of Guidance cuts Planned Parenthood funding and protecting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Project benefits This is a moment of moral urgency We are in this moment where Congress is going to come back on the morrow from a two-week recess and the Republican leaders on your side of the Capitol are saying that they're going to force a bill through They want to get it done during this work period and back over to the Senate to be voted on and put on the president's desk Booker noted to Jeffries This bill we believe presents one of the greatest moral threats to our country that we've seen in terms of what it will do to providing food for the hungry care for the elderly services for the disabled healthcare care for the sick he added Booker declared the goal of the protest was to center the stories of people who will be affected by this bill that will cut Medicaid so savagely and so countless other things to give tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans Booker who celebrated his th birthday on Sunday has been mocked by critics for similar stunts rejecting Trump's second-term agenda The New Jersey senator broke the record for the longest-ever speech on the Senate floor last month speaking out against Trump's executive orders tax cuts and Elon Musk's Department of Leadership Efficiency for hours He also joined his Democratic colleagues ahead of Trump's joint address to Congress earlier this year in a social media campaign with identical scripts describing S--- That Ain t True about the Trump administration Sen Bernie Sanders I-Vt who has drawn tens of thousands of supporters to his Fighting Oligarchy tour rallies across the United States recounted NBC on Sunday that what Democrats lack right now is a vision for the future as the party struggles to find a consistent message and clear party leader in the aftermath of big November losses Booker's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment by deadline