THE HILL - Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Tuesday set a new record for longest floor speech in Senate history, having held the floor for 25 hours and 5 minutes to decry potential GOP spending cuts in their looming tax bill and policies put in place by the Trump administration.
Booker, the No. 4 member of Democratic leadership, wrapped up at 8:05 p.m. EDT Tuesday, having started at 7 p.m. the previous day — topping the previous record of 24 hours and 18 minutes held by former Sen. Strom Thurmond (S.C.).
As he neared that mark, Booker noted there’s a room on the Senate side of the Capitol named after Thurmond, who set the original record filibustering against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
“To hate him is wrong, and maybe my ego got too caught up in, if I stood here maybe, maybe — just maybe — I could break this record of the man who tried to stop the rights upon which I stand,” Booker said. “I’m not here, though, because of his speech. I’m here despite his speech. I’m here because as powerful as he was, the people were more powerful.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) then proceeded to ask Booker if he knew he had just set the new mark.
“Do you know you’ve just broken the record? Do you know how proud this caucus is of you? Do you know how proud America is of you?” Schumer asked.
Booker eventually said he would keep speaking for a little longer before going off to deal with some “biological urgencies.” He was unable to leave the floor for a bathroom break during his speech.
Booker’s speech came as part of a broader effort by Democrats to highlight what they view as perilous actions by Republicans, including potential spending cuts to the tune of trillions of dollars and ongoing efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash the federal workforce.
