What fueled Booker’s 25-hour speech
Plus: Behind the Senate’s tariff revolt and SCOTUS weighs Medicaid and Planned Parenthood’s rights.
👋🏾 Hi, hey, hello! First things first:
— Senate Republicans are in for a marathon vote series—possibly as early as tomorrow—as they push toward passing a revised budget proposal to enact President Donald Trump’s tax, border, and energy policies.
Once the Senate acts, the House must follow. But that could be a heavy lift if House conservatives reject provisions that add to the national debt without offsetting federal spending. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) still has to resolve internal GOP tensions over remote voting for new moms and dads.
— Adelita Grijalva is running for Congress. The daughter of the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and a current Pima County supervisor launched her campaign this week to succeed him in Arizona’s 7th District. The primary is set for July 15, with a special election on September 23. Her campaign is expected to lean into her father’s progressive legacy while addressing new challenges facing Southern Arizona.
— House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is floating legal action against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has yet to schedule a special election to replace the late Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas). Democrats accuse Abbott of dithering to give House Republicans more breathing room as they advance Trump’s agenda—but Texas law gives governors broad leeway on special election timing.
— Two rising Democratic stars launched Senate campaigns this week. Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow is running to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) entered the race after Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) announced she wouldn’t seek reelection.
McMorrow, 38, gained national attention with her viral 2022 floor speech defending LGBTQ+ rights. Pappas, 44, is New Hampshire’s first openly gay member of Congress—and could become the first openly gay man in the Senate.
— Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) stepped down as chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia after the party made the job a full-time paid role, which House ethics rules prohibit. Her dual roles had raised concerns about her fundraising limits and time constraints. One week after Trump flipped Georgia in 2024, I scooped that Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), the most vulnerable Senate Democrat in 2026, privately urged her to resign. The move to a paid chair is seen as an off-ramp for Williams amid the post-2024 scrutiny of her leadership. Matthew Wilson, the party’s first vice chair, is now interim chair.
Keep reading for what else is worth knowing from the Hill this week—straight from my notebook to your inbox. Got a tip? Email, DM, or Signal me.
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CBC prayers, pocket verse, pure stamina
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) made history this week with a 25-hour speech denouncing the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle federal agencies and undermine democratic institutions—surpassing Strom Thurmond’s infamous 1957 filibuster against the Civil Rights Act. Booker’s marathon address electrified Democrats nationwide and has already begun reshaping how the party confronts Trump-era extremism.
Allow me to explain: Joined at times by members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Hakeem Jeffries, Booker’s speech was both a personal act of resistance and a broader call to action. Jeffries—the CBC’s highest-ranking member—told me he initially stopped by the Senate to show support but returned once it became clear Booker would break Thurmond’s record.
In his own words: “That was a powerful thing,” Jeffries said. “And I certainly think it will be one of those moments that will continue to energize people across the country as to what this fight is all about.”
Jeffries shared that he and Booker go back 25 years. The two prominent Black lawmakers entered politics around the same time, attended law school during the same era, and often moved in the same circles.
“It was amongst Cory’s finest moments, and he's had many throughout the years,” Jeffries added. “But it was incredible in that he was strong, he was substantive and he was soulful—all at the same time.”
In the know: Booker told reporters he stopped eating last Friday and cut off water Sunday night to avoid needing a bathroom break, which would have ended the speech.
He leaned on his faith and the prayers of his family and colleagues, including Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
Booker emptied his pockets to lighten the load—keeping only a small slip of paper with the Bible verse Isaiah 43:1.
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Behind the Senate’s tariff revolt
The Senate voted Wednesday evening to overturn President Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports—a rare bipartisan rebuke of a signature piece of his economic agenda, delivered on what Trump declared “Liberation Day.”
Allow me to explain: Four Senate Republicans—Susan Collins (Maine), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Rand Paul (Ky.)—joined all Democrats in voting to end the national emergency declaration underpinning the tariffs.
The tariffs, imposed under a Carter-era law, amount to a 25-percent tax on goods from one of America’s closest trading partners.
Some economists estimate the tariffs Trump announced in February could cost American families as much as $2,000 annually.
Though framed as a response to the flow of fentanyl, the emergency designation allowed Trump to levy tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China without congressional approval.
The Senate bill—introduced by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Warner(D-Va.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)—had been scheduled for a Tuesday vote, but Kaine delayed it by a day to avoid overlapping with Booker’s filibuster. It passed 51–48.
“No one is denying that there’s a fentanyl challenge in the United States—a huge challenge,” Kaine said. “But this is not about fentanyl. It’s about tariffs. It’s about a national sales tax on American families.”
In the know: Just hours before the vote, Trump rolled out a new two-tier tariff system the administration claims will correct trade imbalances and boost domestic manufacturing.
Starting Saturday, a universal 10-percent tariff will apply to all imports.
Additional “reciprocal” tariffs will target countries with significant trade deficits, including China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Taiwan, the EU, and the UK. These go into effect next Wednesday.
A 25-percent tariff on imported cars took effect today.
The administration is framing this as a reset of U.S. trade policy. But economists warn that the long-term effects could be significant on prices, supply chains, and global trade relations.
Consumers may face higher costs, and manufacturers reliant on foreign components could see production expenses rise. And retaliation from trading partners remains a serious risk.
Not so fast: Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) asked for unanimous consent yesterday to pass her first bill as a senator requiring an independent study on the tariffs’ economic impact. Republicans blocked it.
“This tariff issue is connected to everything else [Trump’s] done,” she said. “My bill simply says: be level with the American people.”
Looking ahead: Speaker Johnson said the Senate bill won’t get a vote in the House. But Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, plans to force a vote through a privileged resolution to end the emergency declaration.
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SCOTUS weighs Medicaid, Planned Parenthood rights
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in a pivotal case testing whether states can bar Planned Parenthood from participating in Medicaid. The case centers on a 2018 South Carolina executive order that excluded abortion providers from the state’s Medicaid program.
Allow me to explain: Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic is part of a broader wave of post-Roe litigation aimed at stripping reproductive health providers of public funding and legitimacy.
At issue is whether Medicaid beneficiaries have the legal right to sue under federal civil rights law to enforce a Medicaid provision that allows them to choose any qualified provider.
In her own words: Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), who previously served as vice president of Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, said she hadn’t closely followed the oral arguments but believes South Carolina is discriminating against Planned Parenthood by trying to block Medicaid patients from accessing care there.
“If the Supreme Court were to find with South Carolina, I think it would open the door for other states to politicize women's healthcare,” she said.
In the know: South Carolina argued that the Medicaid Act does not explicitly grant individuals the right to sue to enforce provider choice. Planned Parenthood countered that the law’s language protects beneficiaries’ rights to choose among qualified providers. The justices appeared divided over how to interpret the statute:
Justice Sonia Sotomayor pressed South Carolina’s counsel and suggested that the historical context supports Planned Parenthood’s reading of the law.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh questioned the statute’s clarity and raised concerns about the broader implications for administrative law if individuals could sue to enforce such provisions.
Justice Clarence Thomas noted that the law does not use the word “term,” which he suggested may signal that Congress did not intend to create enforceable individual rights.
Looking ahead: A ruling is expected by the end of June and could dramatically reshape how states engage with Medicaid providers—and whether low-income patients can challenge politically motivated exclusions.