Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) posted a video message reacting to the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). <\/p>\n
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): So I go up to Lindsey Graham, and I’m a brand new senator, determined to do something about mass incarceration. And I hear through Dick Durbin and others that he’s the guy to work with. And I say, Mr. Graham, sir, I’d like to work with you on criminal justice reform. He seems almost amused by what I said. He goes, Cory, do you understand I’m in a primary right now? And I’m running against a guy who is batshit crazy. I can’t even so much as talk to you right now. Get out of here, man. Come back to me after my primary. And I laughed and came back to him after the primary. And true to his word, he rolled up his sleeves, and we went to work. And thanks to him and Dick Durbin and some other Senate heroes, our bill became the first step act after years, two presidents, two congresses, and became law. One of my favorite moments in that negotiation was at the last minute, I’m trying to force one more thing into that bill. This has to do with children being put in solitary confinement. And I am going at it with this White House official who says, no, hard no. And we’re almost yelling at each other. And then he says, I’m going to get Lindsey Graham on the phone, and he will tell you. And so he gets the White House operator to connect Lindsey Graham onto the phone. And Lindsey Graham listens for maybe a hot second and then interrupts the guy and says, are you kidding me? We need Cory Booker to get this bill done. We can’t do it without him. Give him what he wants. And it was in the bill. It’s now part of the law of the land. One of the White House negotiators during that first negotiation told me that Lindsey Graham was like an unguided missile. You never knew which way he was going to go, whether he would come back and hit you. But when he was aligned, when he would be in the right place at the right time, man, he could get things done that other people couldn’t and bring a lot of light and new possibilities to the efforts. I am stunned at Lindsey Graham’s death, but I pray that he is reunited with his friend, John McCain, that they both are experiencing God’s love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. My prayers are with his family and all those who loved and cherished him. I will miss my perhaps most unexpected friend in the Senate and someone with whom I got some good things done.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n