Democratic Senator Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours and four minutes earlier this week to oppose the Trump Administration. The New Jersey senator started his speech at midnight on Tuesday (UK time) and finished at 1:04am on Wednesday morning (UK time).
The 55-year-old did not leave the podium for the full 25 hours, not even to go to the bathroom. He vowed to stand there for as long as he was “physically able”.
Senate rules state that a senator has the floor for as long as they are at the podium. This meant that Senator Booker could not leave his position for any reason if he wanted to keep the floor. The previous record for the longest Senate speech was 24 hours and 18 minutes, held by Senator Strom Thurmond who was opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
“I rise tonight because I believe, sincerely, that our country is in crisis,” he said.
Senator Booker aimed to disrupt “the normal business of the United States Senate” for as long as he could.
“I rise with the intention of getting in some good trouble. I rise with the intention to disrupt the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able,” he said.
Sen. Booker on Elon Musk
Various Trump Administration policies were topics of discussion during the marathon speech, and Elon Musk, world’s richest man, was another point of discussion.
“The richest man in the world and the most powerful man in the world, himself a billionaire, are attacking the program that millions and millions of our senior citizens rely on,” he said.
An Address to Trump Supporters
The Senator occasionally poses questions to President Trump’s supporters throughout his speech.
“Anyone who would criticise Biden and follow Trump into what he’s doing with this budget proposal that’s going to slash health care for millions of Americans, increase the deficit by trillions and trillions of dollars, and make Elon Musk richer and richer – is that your solution?” he said, “…I ask America to please ask yourself this financial question – ‘am I better off than I was 71 days ago’?”
At around the 20-hour mark, Senator Booker remarks that his efforts are “inadequate” and puts out a rallying cry to American citizens to oppose the Trump Administration’s changes.
“My efforts today are inadequate to stop what they’re trying to do. But we the people are power, we are strong. We have changed history, we have bent the arch of the moral universe, and now is that moral moment again,” he said.
Senator Booker Reads Letters from Voters
Senator Booker also read out several letters sent in from voters. During one letter where an American with Parkinson’s disease begged the Senator to fight for their social security, Senator Booker teared up.
“I know that so many Americans live in fear that one little thing will happen to them that will destabilise their financial well-being, and now those millions of Americans, because of a president, and a man named Musk, are [having fear driven] into them. They have a president that talks down to them, that lies about the services that they rely on. What is this? It is not normal,” he said.
Occasionally, his Democratic colleagues asked him questions to allow him to catch his breath and take small breaks from speaking.
After he stepped down from the podium, more than one day later, Senator Booker revealed in an interview with MSNBC that he had dehydrated himself and fasted to prepare for the speech.
It is important to note that this was not a filibuster as the Senator was not blocking any legislation from passing.
The full speech was streamed on various platforms, including TikTok, despite Senator Booker voting to ban the social media app. In a comment to NewsWeek, the Senator said if the bill was a “stand-alone” bill, he would have voted against it. The foreign-aid package included humanitarian assistance for citizens in Gaza and military aid to Israel and Ukraine.
Featured Image Credit: Sen. Cory Booker
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[…] the globe in defiance of President Trump’s leadership. Recently, Democratic Senator Cory Booker broke the record for the longest Senate speech. He stood and spoke for more than 25 hours in opposition to President Trump. […]