OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
1:59 PM – Monday, April 28, 2025
On Sunday, House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Cory Booker, also a Democrat, staged a livestreamed anti-Trump sit-in on the U.S. Capitol steps — protesting Republicans’ push to pass a budget reconciliation bill that would cut nearly $1.5 trillion in federal overspending.
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“We can’t keep doing things like business as usual. We have to think of creative, new things to do,” Booker stated. “So Hakeem and I thought, let’s sit on the steps of the Capitol, open up a live feed right before the sun rises, and begin a conversation.”
Despite Democrat-led criticisms of the proposed plan, the Trump administration has adamantly insisted that no cuts will be made to programs like Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare.
Meanwhile, Booker and Jeffries spoke out against the GOP budget reconciliation package and how the Trump administration has tackled a number of issues in the first 100 days.
“This is a moral moment in America. Sitting on the Capitol steps with Leader Hakeem Jeffries this morning to discuss what’s at stake with Trump’s budget and affirm the need for collective action to protect Medicaid, food assistance, and other safety net programs. It only takes 4 Republicans in the House, or 4 in the Senate to stop this,” Booker posted on social media.
Booker asserted that 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 many other things, to give tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans.”
However, GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson has also publicly stated that essential safety net programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will be protected.
Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) was among the other left-wing politicians who joined the two lawmakers during the sit-in — which started in the morning and continued into the evening.
Activists and politicians also joined the Democrats throughout the day, including American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.
“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 said on X at the end of the sit-in.
In an effort to complete legislation by Memorial Day, committees are starting to mark up the budget framework that was approved by the House and Senate prior to recess as Congress reconvenes this week.
The budget package “will contain Massive Tax Cuts, Strong Border Security Measures, Major Military Advancements, Dramatic Deregulation, Powerful Spending Reforms, and more!” according to Trump, who wrote on Truth Social amid increased pressure on the discussions on Sunday.
“IT MUST BE DONE. We will unleash Economic Prosperity, and accelerate into the Golden Age of America,” Trump said of his “big, beautiful bill.”
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