WASHINGTON – Sen. Cory Booker on Tuesday delivered the longest recorded floor speech in Senate history, breaking the record set by segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond in 1957.
Booker began speaking on the Senate floor at 7 p.m. Monday evening to protest President Donald Trump’s policies.
At 7:19 p.m. on Tuesday, Booker broke Thurmond’s record of 24 hours and 18 minutes, which he made while speaking against the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first major civil rights bill since Reconstruction.
Senators frequently delivered long speeches in the 19th century, the Senate Historical Office noted in a list of the longest Senate speeches dating back to 1900, but it’s not possible to determine exactly how long the lasted from the existing record.
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Booker said that he decided to undertake the marathon speech because Democrats have a “responsibility” to “do something different” in the face of the unprecedented changes taking place in the first few months of Trump’s second term as president.
“I’ve been hearing from people all over my state and indeed all over the nation calling upon folks in Congress to do more,” Booker said in a video posted to X before taking to the floor. “To do things that recognize the urgency, the crisis of the moment.”
Booker said he plans to speak for as long as he is “physically able to.” He cannot sit or leave the Senate floor for a bathroom break; otherwise, he would lose his right to hold the floor. If he doesn’t leave or sit down, no senator can stop him.
The Democratic base has been urging lawmakers to do more to push back on the Trump administration, which has been dismantling or dramatically cutting federal agencies, enacting a widespread deportation campaign and redefining the relationship between the three branches of government.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has faced calls for primary challengers and protests outside his home after he voted with Republicans to keep the government open. Elsewhere, constituents have yelled at Democratic members at town halls, pleading with them to be more forceful in speaking out against Trump.