In a fiery Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing that quickly descended into a partisan slugfest, Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) clashed over the intensifying wave of threats made against federal judges during President Donald Trump’s second term.
The session, provocatively titled "The Supposedly Least Dangerous Branch: District Judges v. Trump," was supposed to examine the delicate balance between judicial independence and executive authority. Instead, it erupted into a symbolic showdown over what’s fueling America’s legal and political volatility.
At the center of the conflict was a sharp dispute over who’s to blame for escalating threats and what’s being done to stop them. Senator Cruz opened the hearing by accusing Democrats of hypocrisy, saying they were “utterly silent” during similar threats made against conservative judges during the Biden administration, specifically after the leak of the Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade. Cruz cited protests outside the homes of Justices Kavanaugh and Gorsuch as violations of federal law — U.S.C. Section 1507 — and lambasted the Biden Justice Department for failing to prosecute any of the demonstrators.
🚨 LMAO! Sen. Ted Cruz called Cory Booker “Spartacus” to his face
“Let the record reflect that Spartacus did NOT answer the question…” 🤣🔥 pic.twitter.com/iYA7q0Atkh
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 4, 2025
That remark touched a nerve. Booker fired back immediately, calling Cruz’s claims “dangerous” and “absurd,” and insisting that Democrats had publicly condemned the threats at the time. He even pointed to bipartisan efforts to expand security for justices as proof that concern for judicial safety transcends party lines. Booker accused Cruz of stoking “fiery rhetoric” that deepens national division.
Cruz wasn’t having it. Interrupting repeatedly, he demanded to know why the Biden DOJ failed to enforce the law. Booker’s attempt to answer was cut off several times, prompting the New Jersey senator to demand he be allowed to speak — and then, raising his voice, to denounce the entire exchange as emblematic of the bitter tribalism plaguing the country.
But beyond the back-and-forth jabs lies a deeply unsettling trend: a dramatic spike in threats against federal judges. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, more than 370 threats have already been investigated since Trump’s re-inauguration — a figure that could surpass the 2024 total in just a few months.
These threats range from direct harassment to more cryptic forms of intimidation, such as anonymous pizza deliveries sent to judges’ homes — a tactic used to signal that someone has located a judge’s residence.
The timing of these threats is no coincidence. With hundreds of lawsuits aimed at slowing or stopping Trump’s sweeping executive orders, federal judges have become high-value targets for partisan ire. Trump’s frequent criticism of “activist judges” has only added fuel to the fire, prompting Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a rare public rebuke — a subtle but unmistakable warning about the dangers of undermining judicial credibility.