Sen. Cortez Masto defends working with Trump after Cory Booker’s ‘complicity’ accusation

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., responded to Sen. Corey Booker’s, D-N.J., outburst on the Senate floor last week in an interview with The New York Times.

Cortez Masto was asked by the New York Times to respond to Booker’s accusations against Democrats that they were “complicit” with President Donald Trump’s agenda.

“I don’t need lectures from anyone on how to push back and fight this administration. I’ve been doing it since I got to the Senate, because I won my Senate race in 2016 and Donald Trump won at the same time. I’m also from a swing state; I’ve still got to get stuff done on behalf of my state,” Masto told The New York Times.

Booker accused his fellow Democratic senators last week of aligning themselves with Trump because they are in favor of passing new police legislation. He claimed that without amendments, the legislation would allow the president to pick winners and losers in terms of who receives the benefits.

“That is complicity with an authoritarian leader who is trashing our country,” Booker said. “It is time for Democrats to have a backbone. It’s time for us to fight. It’s time for us to draw a line, and when it comes to the safety of my state being denied these grants, that’s why I’m standing here.”

Booker’s objection stemmed from a call from Democrats to pass a package of law enforcement-related bills aimed at boosting resources for police, including shoring up death benefits for officers lost in the line of duty, providing greater mental health support for officers, and addressing child exploitation.

The bills, which eventually passed, were discussed and approved in committee before reaching the Senate floor.

Masto thought the legislation would benefit everyone across the country.

“Why would you throw out good legislation that’s going to benefit everyone across the country? That doesn’t make sense. We still have to have a functioning government. That’s part of gaining the trust of Americans again, so they understand there are people that are working on their behalf,” Masto said. “But most importantly, we have to win. Winning means we’ve got to win these swing states, and focus on those swing voters and what matters to them and talk to them and that we’re addressing the issues they care about.”