Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) clapped back at Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) after he called her and other colleagues “complicit” to President Donald Trump in fiery Senate floor exchanges.

Cortez Masto spoke with Annie Karni for The New York Times after testy exchanges with Booker this week. The lawmaker declared she doesn’t need “lectures” on how to be an effective Democrat from colleagues like Booker.

“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,” she said.

Booker clashed with Masto and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) this week after taking issue with bipartisan law enforcement bills the senators were trying to pass quickly.

Booker proposed an amendment guaranteeing “every officer in every state” has “the full support they deserve in their service to our communities,” as he launched into a rant against the administration.

“Sadly, this is not what the Justice Department is doing. Rather than supporting law enforcement agencies and officers equally across the nation, they are weaponizing public safety grants to punish state and local jurisdictions that resist the Trump policy agenda, including my home state of New Jersey,” he said.

Masto clashed with Booker, accusing him of trying to kill the bills, while Booker blasted some of his colleagues as “complicit” with Trump.

“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 told The New York Times.

The lawmaker argued Democrats should be focused on passing bills that benefit swing states and are focused on public safety and lowering costs.

“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,” she said.

Masto called for Democrats to “step up” as she was asked whether Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (R-NY) is the “right” leader for Senate Democrats at the moment.

“Yeah. Listen, this isn’t a moment where we have a savior that’s going to come down for the Democratic Party,” she said. “This is all of us; this is a moment where our democracy and our government is being challenged. We all have a role, not just those in elected office, or in leadership in elected office. Everybody has a role to play. We are being tested and we’ve got to step up.”

Read the rest here from The New York Times.

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