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Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said as he began speaking on the Senate floor Monday night that he intended to disrupt “the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able,” citing his belief that “our nation is in crisis.”
He wasn’t kidding.
Booker spoke through the night and into Tuesday morning. He suspended his speech at noon for the Senate prayer, but then kept on going. As of 3:00 p.m. ET, he had been at it for 20 hours. He hit the 24-hour mark at 7:00 p.m. ET, a full day after he began his speech on Monday. Eighteen minutes later, he broke the record for the longest-ever speech on the Senate floor. He call it quits after 25 hours and four minutes.
“I’m rip-roaring and ready,” Booker said on Tuesday morning. “I’m wide awake. I’m going to stand here for as many hours as I can.” The New Jersey Democrat streamed his speech on his X account.
Booker spent his time at the podium railing against the Trump administration’s cuts to the Social Security Administration, its assault on Medicaid and other social services, the president’s numerous dubiously legal executive orders, and more. He has taken questions from his Democratic colleagues, but never yielded control of the floor.
South Carolina RepublicanStrom Thurmond held the previous record for longest Senate speech. Thurmond filibustered for24 hours and 18 minutesagainst the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
“You think we got civil rights one day because Strom Thurmond, after filibustering for 24 hours, you think we got civil rights because he came to the floor one day and said, ‘I’ve seen the light,’” Booker said at one point during his marathon speech, per the Associated Press. ”No, we got civil rights because people marched for it, sweat for it and John Lewis bled for it.”
“I’m not here because of his speech. I’m here in spite of his speech,” Booker said upon breaking the record. “I’m here because as powerful as he was, the people were more powerful.”
Booker’s speech was not a filibuster, as it was not intended to delay a specific piece of legislation the chamber was debating. He was speaking solely to draw attention to Trump’s systematic dismantling of the federal government. Democrats — who are in the minority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives — have largely struggled to articulate a coherent opposition the first months of Trump’s second term in office.
Booker said Tuesday afternoon, with gusto: “I confess that I have been imperfect. I confess that I’ve been inadequate to the moment. I’ve confess that the Democratic Party has made terrible mistakes that gave a lane to this demagogue. I confess we all must look in the mirror and say we will do better.”
Booker reportedly only had a few sips of water to sustain him as he maintained the podium. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who spoke for 21 straight hours in 2013 in opposition of the Affordable Care Act, advised against this. “Wear comfortable shoes and don’t drink water,” he told CNN on Tuesday when asked if he had any advice for Booker, who was not allowed to use the restroom so long as he wants to keep control of the Senate floor.
