Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) may have been celebrated by his Democratic colleagues and allies in the mainstream media for his 25-hour Senate speech last week, but it looks like that speech could have gotten him in trouble. The nonpartisan ethics watchdog group has now written to the Senate Ethics Committee as a result of the senator sending out campaign messages about the speech.
In a letter addressed to Sens. James Lankford (R-OK) and Chris Coons (D-DE), the chairman and vice chairman of the Committee, FACT Executive Director Kendra Arnold asked the Committee "to investigate Senator Cory Booker to determine whether he violated the Senate Ethics prohibition of directly linking official action to a solicitation for campaign contributions."
As Arnold's letter explained, Booker took to the Senate floor on March 31, and shortly before mentioned his speech on X, urging his followers to tune in. "Both during and after his speech he sent a series of email and text messages that campaigned and fundraised off his speech. These messages specifically discussed his speech on the Senate floor and requested the reader sign up for Booker’s campaign list, included links to his campaign shop, and requested campaign contributions," the letter went on to mention, referencing plenty of examples from April 1 and April 2.
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.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) March 31, 2025
One particularly noteworthy message was sent out late on Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning. With emphasis original to Arnold's letter, the message with the subject line of "We must speak up" read in part: "'I may be tired and am still a little hoarse, but as I’ve said again and again, this is a moment where we cannot afford to be silent. We must speak up. . . . If you were inspired by what you saw today, split a contribution between Cory Booker and the DNC.' A 'contribute' link immediately followed the email. This email was also sent as a text message."
As Arnold also went on to explain, with emphasis original to the letter, senators must keep their campaign and fundraising work separate:
Law. “The difference between official representational and legislative duties on the one hand and political activities on the other has long been recognized in Congress.” Senate ethics rules specifically prohibit senators from soliciting campaign contributions based upon any action taken in their official capacity. The Senate Ethics Manual is clear that a senator “should never use the prestige or influence of a position in the Senate for personal gain . . . . This provision was intended ‘as a broad prohibition against members, officers or employees deriving financial benefit, directly or indirectly, from the use of their official position.’” Even the “appearance” or “possibility” that a member is “cashing in” or has a “personal financial stake in the outcome of their official duties” is to be avoided. Moreover, senators are required to act based upon merit, and not on partisan affiliation or for campaign contributions.
Campaign Fundraising Tied To Official Action. It is clear that Senator Booker’s Senate floor speech had a campaign purpose. Before he even began speaking, he announced his upcoming speech on his campaign social media. During his speech, he sent a series of emails that campaigned and sought valuable supporter information and campaign contributions based on his Senate floor speech. Immediately after his speech, Booker sent an email that requested donations for his campaign and the DNC if the recipient liked what they saw him do on the Senate floor. There is no more direct tie between an official action and campaign solicitation. By using an official action to campaign, Senator Booker violated the basic requirement of the Senate ethics rules that “every Senator always must endeavor to avoid the appearance that the Senator, the Senate, or the governmental process may be influenced by campaign contributions[.]” While the Senate Ethics Committee “does not endorse or require any specific procedures” for eliminating the appearance of impropriety when fundraising, it has favorably noted that “a number of Senators have instituted practices to strictly separate fundraising from substantive legislative activities.” Senator Booker’s solicitations, on the other hand, specifically campaigned based upon his pre-planned Senate floor speech, which is certainly an official activity.
The letter continued by calling Booker and his actions out specifically, and the problems there could be for the Senate as a whole.
"In essence, by employing this tactic, Sen. Booker indicates to potential contributors that his official actions can be influenced by campaign contributions. This is exactly the kind of appearance of impropriety that the Senate ethics rules aim to prohibit. Moreover, this tactic dangerously incentivizes other senators to follow-suit and engage in similar performances on the Senate floor with the aim of raising campaign funds and building email lists/supporter lists for future elections. Rather than focusing on official business, the Senate floor will increasingly be seen as a campaign venue and treated as such—this must not be allowed to occur. Senators, who are nearly always raising campaign funds, will be rightly seen as making important official decisions based on what will bring in the most money, not on the merits of an issue," Arnold added.
The letter also includes an example of one of the letters sent out by Booker, in bold noting, "We must speak up." His picture is prominently displayed, as is an invitation for recipients to donate. "If you were inspired by what you saw yesterday, split a contribution between Cory Booker and the DNC." There's an invitation to "CONTRIBUTE $10."
As we covered in an exclusive late last month, FACT also raised concerns about Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) fundraising off of voting against advancing the continuing resolution (CR) to prevent a government shutdown.
Editor's Note: Every single day, here at Townhall, we will stand up and FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT against the radical left and deliver the conservative reporting our readers deserve.
Help us continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration and its major wins. Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member