Cory Booker, a Democratic Senator, conducted an overnight session on the Senate floor to voice his opposition to the policies of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.
The New Jersey lawmaker is still speaking a full 24 hours later as lawmakers and staff returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and got back to work.
He’s closing in on the all-time longest record set by Sen. Strom Thurmond who holds the honor at 24 hours and 18 minutes.
Throughout the night, Senator Booker showed no signs of fatigue, occasionally shifting from one foot to the other. He held a small copy of the U.S. Constitution and a stack of folders, reciting the various legal actions taken against Trump.
Over 770,000 are watching the live stream of him on X as he rambles on.
His long speech received accolades from the Democratic supporters who have been urging the party to push back more forcefully against the president’s initiatives.
MAGA loyalists decried the overnight symbolic move as a waste of time as it serves as a performative delay but will not block Senate Republicans from pushing forward with their agenda.
Booker’s marathon speech was not a technical filibuster, which is a longstanding Senate practice to delay or block a particular vote. The action was dubbed ‘bizarre’ by conservatives.
But in a post before he started on Monday night, the New Jersey senator said he was headed to the floor ‘because Donald Trump and Elon Musk have shown a complete disregard for the rule of law, the Constitution, and the needs of the American people.’
‘Tonight I rise with the intention of getting in some good trouble. I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able,’ he said at the top of his remarks on the floor.
‘I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis, and I believe that not in a partisan sense because so many of the people that have been reaching out to my office in pain, in fear, having their lives upended, so many identify themselves as Republicans,’ he said.
The senator pre-recorded a video to post from his social media while he was speaking and his office continued to clip updates from his ongoing floor speech throughout the night.
During his remarks, the senator read messages from Americans across the country including one where he became emotional while sharing the story of a person battling Parkinson’s disease who was calling for the protection of Social Security.
Booker also blasted the Trump administration for pushing to dismantle the Department of Education, imposing tariffs on the U.S. biggest trade partners and promoting tax cuts that benefit the wealthiest Americans.
At another point, the senator read a news report that the Trump administration mistakenly deported a Maryland man to a dangerous El Salvador prison because of an ‘administrative error.’
Throughout the night, Booker was assisted by Democratic colleagues who came to the floor. While he yielded to them so they could ask questions, it allowed him to maintain control of the floor.
Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) was among those who asked questions and stayed to support the New Jersey lawmaker’s effort throughout the night.
As Booker continued to speak heading into Tuesday afternoon, he stepped side-to-side in his black sneakers to relieve pressure after being on his feet for so long.
While Booker’s action was not a technical filibuster, senators from both sides of the aisle have delivered long speeches on the floor to draw attention to a message or block a vote since the chamber’s governing rules were established.
Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oreg.) delivered a marathon speech during Trump’s first term to protest the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
In 2013, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) spoke for more than 13 hours to delay the nomination of CIA Director John Brennan.
Senator Ted Cruz memorably read Dr. Seuss in September 2013 during his more than 21 hour speech on the Senate floor while standing in opposition of Obamacare.
The longest filibuster on records was that of Senator Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes in an attempt to block the Civil Rights Act in 1957.
As Booker spoke, his name started trending on social media.
One Democratic strategist praised his effort as a ‘masterclass in how Democrats should be fighting right now’ while former Biden administration official Neera Tanden called him a ‘hero.’
‘I applaud Sen Cory Booker for seizing the Senate floor to raise awareness that what we are experiencing from Trump and DOGE is not normal. I encourage all Senate Democrats, including the Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania, to join him,’ wrote Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-Penn.) on X.
While Democrats praised and thanked Booker for his efforts, conservatives were less impressed.
One social media user claimed he was wasting his time while another called it a ‘bizarre form of protest’ and questioned what he would accomplish with it.
