On October 5, 2025, as the government shutdown dragged into its fifth day, the political temperature in Washington soared. In a pointed appearance on ABC's "This Week," Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, delivered a blistering assessment of the ongoing standoff, which he described as a "tsunami of Donald Trump's creation." Booker’s words, echoed across major outlets including ABC News and Breitbart, captured the sense of urgency and frustration gripping the nation’s capital—and much of the country.
At the heart of the impasse are starkly different priorities between Democrats and Republicans. According to ABC News, Democrats have made it clear that they will not support any funding bill that does not undo recent Medicaid cuts and restore subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Republicans, for their part, are insisting on a so-called "clean" funding bill—one that would simply keep the government running through November 2025 without addressing health care provisions.
Booker, speaking with ABC's Martha Raddatz, cut through the usual partisan blame game to focus on what he called the real stakes: the health and financial security of ordinary Americans. "I don't care about the blame game. I care about Americans losing their health insurance, rates of death going up, hospitals being crushed, medical services ending in places in rural America. This is a tsunami of Donald Trump's creation," Booker declared, his voice rising with conviction.
His comments came as negotiations between the two parties remained stalled, with little sign of progress. Booker reserved special criticism for the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives, noting that the Speaker had kept the House out of session for two weeks—effectively preventing any face-to-face negotiations. "They're not negotiating. Remember, the speaker of the House has kept the House out for the last two weeks. They're not sitting down," Booker said, according to ABC News. This, he argued, was a dramatic departure from previous years, when bipartisan "four-corner agreements"—involving both parties and both chambers—had allowed budgets to pass and crises to be averted.
For Booker, the current moment is unprecedented. He emphasized that, for the first time in American history, millions of people are at risk of losing their health care coverage because of what he described as "Donald Trump's attacks on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act." He warned that "most Americans [are] experiencing a significant rise in their health care costs," and that the consequences would soon be felt across the country, especially in rural areas where hospitals and clinics are already stretched thin.
"We are, for the first time in America ever, we're on a moment where because of Donald Trump's attacks on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, [we are] on the verge of tens of millions of Americans losing their health care and most of Americans experiencing a significant rise in their health care costs," Booker said, reiterating the gravity of the situation.
Booker’s concern extended beyond statistics and policy papers. He described the human toll that would result from the shutdown and the failure to address health care funding. "The pain, the hurt, the fear that's going to rise amongst millions of Americans who lose health insurance. Dear God, just come to the table and do something to help Americans. This is truly for many Americans existential," Booker pleaded, as reported by Breitbart and other outlets. He recounted receiving calls from hospital board members in his own state—Republicans among them—who were alarmed about looming increases in health care premiums, which he warned could arrive "in a matter of days."
Booker’s remarks also addressed the question of Democratic leadership in the ongoing crisis. When pressed by Raddatz on whether he had any criticism for his own party’s leaders, Booker expressed pride and solidarity. "You've seen Chuck Schumer go to the podium, negotiate with us, almost begging the president to bring the parties together," he said. "I am proud of those people who are standing up right now and saying, we're not doing business as usual in Washington when this many millions of Americans are literally going to be hurt." For Booker, the solution lies in presidential leadership and bipartisan negotiation—something he said was sorely lacking. "We need a president to stand up and bring us together to help to solve the problems of American people," he argued.
Booker’s critique of the Republican approach was equally sharp. He contrasted the current standoff with past instances when Democrats controlled the budget process. "The 13 occasions when we are in charge, we pass budgets because we did it in a bipartisan way. It wasn’t our way or the highway. We came together, what they call a four-corner agreement, and negotiated a way forward," Booker explained on ABC's "This Week." This, he said, is what responsible governance looks like—a far cry from the current impasse, which he attributed to a refusal by Republican leaders to negotiate in good faith.
The senator’s warning about the impact of the shutdown on health care was especially dire. He painted a picture of hospitals "being crushed," emergency rooms with "lines two times as long," and medical services "ending in places in rural America." The situation, he insisted, is not just a political problem but a full-blown health care crisis. "We are in a crisis. We are in a crisis," he repeated for emphasis.
Booker’s comments have resonated widely, as media outlets like Breitbart and ABC News have reported. His framing of the crisis as a direct consequence of former President Trump’s health care policies has become a rallying point for Democrats, while Republicans continue to insist that a clean funding bill is the only way forward. The standoff, now entering its second week, shows little sign of resolution, and the stakes for millions of Americans could not be higher.
As the shutdown continues, the pressure is mounting on both sides to find a path forward. Booker’s call for unity and action—"Dear God, just come to the table and do something to help Americans"—reflects the desperation felt by many, both inside and outside the Beltway. Whether that plea will break the deadlock remains to be seen, but the senator’s warning is clear: the cost of inaction will be measured not just in dollars, but in lives and livelihoods across the country.
