Booker stages Senate filibuster to protest ‘crisis’ he says Trump and Musk created
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(WASHINGTON) — New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker on Tuesday morning was still speaking on the Senate floor, staging a filibuster he started at 7 p.m. Monday night, in what he called a protest against the national “crisis” he said President Donald Trump and Elon Musk had created.
On Monday night, he said he was set to last “as long as [he is] physically able.”
“I’m heading to the Senate floor because Donald Trump and Elon Musk have shown a complete disregard for the rule of law, the Constitution, and the needs of the American people. You can tune in on CSPAN, YouTube, X, and Facebook,” the senator posted on X as he took to the floor.
Booker, who said he would keep the Senate floor open through the duration of his remarks, said at the top of his speech that he “rise[s] with the intention of disrupting the normal business” of the chamber because he believes the country is in “crisis” due to the actions of the White House since Trump started his second term.
“I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis, and I believe that not in a partisan sense, because so many of the people that have been reaching out to my office in pain, in fear, having their lives upended–so many of them identify themselves as Republicans,” Booker said.
“In just 71 days, the president of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans’ safety, financial stability, the core foundations of our democracy and even our aspirations as a people For from our highest offices, a sense of common decency. These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such,” he said.
So long as Booker is holding the floor, the Senate won’t be able to conduct other business unless he temporarily yields.
(WASHINGTON) — As the IRS fired thousands of workers across the country on Thursday, many laid-off employees walked out of the headquarters in Washington, D.C., for the last time.
One fired IRS worker, who exited the building with a heavy suitcase and stuffed duffle bag, told ABC News he was originally hired to make the IRS more efficient.
“I was brought in to do data analytics and automation,” he said, adding that his colleagues were “surprised and hurt” since the “understanding was that I was brought in to make things more efficient” and the government would retain people with his technical skill set.
He said his job “modernized” IRS data infrastructure and streamlined compliance work, noting the irony in that the stated mission of the federal workforce cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is precisely to make the government more efficient.
Sources told ABC News the IRS is expected to lay off more than 6,000 probationary employees across the country starting Thursday — about 6% of the total IRS workforce. One source familiar with the matter told ABC News more than 100 people are being fired across the Washington offices, including more than 60 terminated from IRS headquarters.
However, the layoffs are expected nationwide, with hundreds expected in Texas, New York, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.
When asked whether he thought the firings would affect this tax filing season, the fired worker said: “You can only imagine with so many people being let go and so much information and potential being lost that people probably can expect disturbances.”
“I wish there was more thought put into the long-term impact that some of these decisions will have on not just the American taxpayers but the American people,” he added.
He said he’s worked in a variety of industries, including doing nanotechnology research, biotechnology research and engineering, but that he felt the most motivation and mission while working for the federal government.
Another IRS employee who was wiping away tears described the impact she believed this will have on the future of the IRS. While she still has a job, she said these layoffs are “gutting” the IRS and will mean less enforcement and fewer people to respond to concerns from taxpayers.
She also noted that much of the IRS workforce is older and near retirement age. The probationary workers who were recently hired included the “best and the brightest” who represented the future of the IRS, she said, adding that all of that is now being taken away.
Another fired IRS worker told ABC News he was just three weeks shy of no longer being a probationary employee. He disputed Musk’s and Trump’s claims that the firings are improving efficiency.
“I know that the people that I have worked with … work really hard, and so … if you’re measuring efficiency by productivity, certainly not. If you’re measuring efficiency by morale, absolutely not,” he said. “I accepted this role in order to help our country fight bad guys.”
Photo by Kremlin Press Office / Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump‘s “trust” in Russia’s Vladimir Putin now faces a major test as the world waits for Moscow to respond to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S. and accepted by Ukraine.
Trump said after Tuesday’s breakthrough in Saudi Arabia that he would speak with Putin soon, though declined to comment on Wednesday when asked if anything had been scheduled.
“I’ve gotten some positive messages, but a positive message means nothing,” he said from the Oval Office, where he was peppered with question on what comes next. “This is a very serious situation.”
The Kremlin has cautiously said it is reviewing the proposal and it will not be pushed into anything.
The Trump administration placed significant pressure on Ukraine in recent weeks in stopping military aid and pausing some intelligence sharing — both resumed only after Ukraine agreed to the ceasefire on Tuesday.
U.S. officials, including Trump himself, have also set limited expectations amid broader negotiations on Ukraine’s borders and expressly ruled out NATO membership for the Eastern European ally.
Meanwhile, they’ve not publicly demanded any concessions from Putin — and it’s not clear how far Trump is willing to go in pressuring Russia to accept the 30-day ceasefire.
“We can, but I hope it’s not going to be necessary,” Trump said on Wednesday when asked about that very issue.
“There are things you could do that wouldn’t be pleasant in a financial sense,” he added without divulging any specifics. “I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace.”
Trump last Friday threatened sanctions on Russia until it reached an agreement with Ukraine. The Biden administration imposed hundreds of sanctions on Moscow over the course of the conflict.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier on Wednesday noted that Russia is already “pretty sanctioned up” as he was asked what pressure the administration would be ready to apply.
“As far as I am aware, the United States has not provided armaments to Russia,” Rubio said as he largely sidestepped the inquiry. “The United States is not providing assistance to Russia. Every single sanction that has been imposed on Russia remains in place … So my point being is that there’s been no steps taken to relieve any of these things, these things continue to be in place.”
“We don’t think it’s constructive for me to stand here today and begin to issue threats about what we’re going to do if Russia says no, let’s hope they say yes,” Rubio said.
Trump has also often praised his relationship with Putin, saying he knows him “very well” and declining to call him a dictator despite using the term to describe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I think he wants peace. I think he would tell me if he didn’t,” Trump said of the Russian leader in mid-February. “I trust him on this subject. I think he’d like to see something happen.”
Just last week, in an interview with Fox News, Trump claimed Putin was “more generous” and easier to work with than Ukraine.
Now, the administration is saying the ball is in Russia’s court after Ukraine agreed to an immediate, monthlong stoppage in hostilities should Moscow do the same.
“We’ll see what their response is,” Rubio said. “If their response is yes, then we know we’ve made real progress and there’s a real chance of peace. If their response is no, it will be highly unfortunate and then it’ll make their intentions clear.”
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Crowds of current and recently fired federal workers gathered at a job fair in Maryland on Saturday to search for new career opportunities as the Trump administration continues its purge of federal workers.
Many were filled with despair and frustration over the cuts, spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Daniel Leckie was a historic preservation specialist for the General Services Administration who got fired in February. He attended the job fair with his wife and 6-month-old baby.
“We’re now just incredibly terrified and scrambling to find new jobs to keep the roof over our head and feed our little one,” he told ABC News.
Leckie said he was fired for being a probationary employee and was just one day away from fully satisfying his probationary period.
Leckie and his wife, Jennifer Hopkins, just bought a new home in Maryland, making their first mortgage payment just a few weeks ago. He was also working toward completing the public service loan forgiveness program.
“I had about maybe two or three months left before I would have satisfied the terms of my student loans. It’s an $80,000 proposition for our family. It’s between this job, the student loan forgiveness that we were counting on and the job that we took included a promotion potential as long as I was performing fully, successfully in my duties, which I was,” he said.
“That’s what we based a lot of our financial future on, including deciding to start a family and taking out a mortgage and becoming homeowners here in the D.C. area,” Leckie added.
William Dixon, a 30-year veteran who has worked in the federal government for 23 years, told ABC News the layoffs are a “stab” against veterans.
“Because after we’ve sat up here and put the sacrifice out, like we don’t even matter, we don’t count,” he said.
Dixon works in logistics for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but he and his wife, who also works for the Pentagon, are bracing for their jobs to be cut any day now as the Defense Department prepares to make sweeping layoffs.
Dixon said both he and his wife received the email from the Office of Personnel Management asking them to list what they accomplished last week, but they’ve refrained from responding based on guidance from their supervisors.
He did, however, have a message for Musk and Trump.
“Stop. You’re hurting families. You’re hurting people,” he said. “Everybody depends on having a paycheck to take care of their family as well as to build for their retirement as well as take care of young ones. You’re doing nothing but hurting, hurting the whole nation and their families. That’s all you’re doing.”
