Booker Expecting Republican Opposition to Trump: Senator Says More GOP Pushback Is Coming

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) made waves on Sunday, May 31, 2026, when he declared on national television that he is “absolutely expecting” Republican opposition to President Donald Trump to grow — a striking forecast at a moment when cracks inside the GOP are becoming increasingly impossible to ignore.

Booker Speaks Out on ABC News’ “This Week”

As per his appearance on ABC News’ This Week with co-anchor Jonathan Karl, Booker issued a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration’s latest moves, while simultaneously signaling that Republican lawmakers — many of whom have privately expressed serious reservations — may soon begin voicing those concerns in public.

According to Booker, “In private conversations… Republicans will express how aghast they are at the behavior.” He made clear that the days of quiet frustration may be numbered.

The senator’s remarks came against the backdrop of several major controversies surrounding the Trump White House, most notably the administration’s push to establish a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund — a proposal designed to compensate individuals who claim they were wrongly targeted by the Justice Department under past administrations.

The $1.8 Billion Anti-Weaponization Fund: A Flashpoint

The fund, which could include those convicted but later pardoned by Trump for their roles in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, has become one of the most divisive flashpoints between the White House and members of the president’s own party.

According to CNN, Senate Republicans were largely blindsided by the Justice Department’s announcement of the fund, which derailed plans to pass Trump’s priority immigration enforcement package before the Memorial Day recess. GOP senators departed Washington without passing the legislation, missing Trump’s self-imposed June 1 deadline.

As per reporting from PBS NewsHour, after a tense 2.5-hour meeting with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — who provided senators only a one-page outline of how the fund would work — Republican lawmakers were left deeply unsatisfied. Rather than being reassured, the meeting had the opposite effect, and senators chose to go home without casting a single vote.

According to CNN’s latest reporting (May 29, 2026), the anti-weaponization fund is now effectively stalled, with some Trump allies privately urging the White House to scrap it altogether. The level of pushback — both public and private — was described as “unusual” even by Washington standards.

Two federal judges also delivered setbacks to the fund on the same day, with one temporarily blocking it and another ordering the Trump administration to respond to fraud allegations surrounding it.

Booker Calls Out Trump’s “Divider-in-Chief” Tendencies

Beyond the anti-weaponization fund, Booker zeroed in on another controversy: Trump’s decision to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after himself. According to Booker, speaking on ABC’s This Week, “The president took one of our sacred memorials to an assassinated president and slapped his name on it. What’s next? The Trump-Lincoln Memorial?”

A federal judge ordered Trump’s name to be removed from the Kennedy Center, a ruling the president responded to on social media with criticism of the judge, while also suggesting he would work with Congress to transfer the institution back to legislative oversight.

According to Booker, the incident is emblematic of a broader pattern. “This is the problem with Trump. He’s a divider-in-chief,” he said. “What I’m hoping people are seeing in this is not his intention, but reminding us what American history has always been about. It’s been about the power of the people being greater than the people in power.”

Booker also tied these actions to fundamental democratic principles, telling ABC News, “We fought a revolution to stop exactly this — a ruler from taking public funds and doing whatever they want with no checks and balances. This president is giving us a master class in our own democracy by tearing it down.”

Republican Incumbents Fall: The Primary Purge

A key reason Booker is expecting more Republican opposition to Trump is the political fallout from the president’s ongoing primary purge of GOP incumbents who have defied him — a pattern that may be emboldening those who survived.

According to NPR, Trump-backed candidates defeated multiple Republican incumbents in recent primaries, most notably Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy and Texas Senator John Cornyn. Cassidy — who had voted to convict Trump in his 2021 impeachment trial — placed third in his primary. Cornyn, despite going to great lengths to avoid Trump’s wrath, also lost his seat after 24 years in the Senate.

As per PBS NewsHour’s reporting, Trump’s primary endorsement wave has unseated at least nine high-profile Republicans so far this cycle, including five Indiana state senators. The pattern raises a broader question: will surviving Republican senators, now witnessing their colleagues being politically eliminated for perceived disloyalty, grow bolder in pushing back against the administration — or more fearful of crossing it?

Booker believes the former. “In private conversations,” he said, Republicans “will express how aghast they are.” He is betting that, at some point, private aghast will become public resistance.

The Broader Picture: Courts, Congress, and the Midterms

The anti-weaponization fund and the Kennedy Center controversy are not isolated incidents. According to ABC News, the fund’s court block was just one of multiple Trump actions halted by federal courts in recent weeks, reflecting a broader judicial pushback against the administration’s more aggressive policy moves.

According to Booker’s statements, he believes this is a critical window as the midterm elections loom just five months away. Democrats are actively targeting competitive Senate and House races where Trump’s controversies could cost Republicans dearly. One of the most watched contests is in Maine, where Republican Senator Susan Collins — one of the last remaining Trump skeptics in the Senate — faces a competitive general election challenge.

As per NPR’s analysis of recent primaries, the 2026 midterm landscape is increasingly shaped by Trump’s interference in Republican primaries, which has placed candidates in swing states who may prove far more vulnerable than their predecessors in a general election.

Booker’s History of Vocal Opposition

This latest round of criticism fits a well-established pattern for the New Jersey senator. According to CBS News, Booker gained national attention in 2025 after delivering a record-breaking 25-hour speech on the Senate floor, railing against the Trump administration’s policies and urging both parties to do more to hold the executive branch accountable.

In a separate exchange earlier this year, as per CBS News reporting, Booker even clashed with fellow Democrats, accusing some of being “complicit” in advancing elements of Trump’s agenda — underscoring that his criticism is not simply partisan but rooted in his belief that institutional checks and balances are at stake.

What Comes Next?

With the midterms approaching, the $1.8 billion fund in legal jeopardy, and Republican senators feeling increasingly blindsided by the White House, Booker’s prediction carries real political weight. The question is no longer whether Republicans will push back on Trump — several already have, quietly. The question is how many will, and whether the pushback will become visible enough to matter before November.

According to all available reporting, the conditions for a genuine intra-party revolt are building: judicial setbacks, legislative gridlock, and a primary season that has left GOP senators uncertain whether loyalty to Trump offers any real political protection at all.

Senator Booker summed it up plainly on This Week: he is “absolutely expecting” it.

The political landscape in Washington is shifting by the day — will Republican senators finally break their silence on Trump? Drop your thoughts in the comments below and stay updated as this story develops.