Cory Booker delivers record-breaking Senate floor speech protesting Trump’s actions for 25 hours

WASHINGTON — As he neared 24 hours of standing on the Senate floor speaking, Sen. Cory Booker held up his pocket Constitution Tuesday, his voice only slightly more strained than when he’d started.

“I keep going back to how this document is being undermined and attacked by this president,” Booker said, repeating a sentiment he’d hammered throughout the day.

Armed with eight binders, two water glasses, one box of tissues, and seemingly endless political talking points, Booker, the senior Democrat from New Jersey, broke the previously held record for an individual speech given in 1957 by then-Democratic Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. Thurmond was opposing the passage of the Civil Rights Act in a speech that lasted for 24 hours and 18 minutes.

Booker’s marathon speech started at 6:59 p.m. Monday.

“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,” Booker said as he began his monologue, referencing the words of civil rights leader John Lewis. “I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our nation is in crisis.”

He concluded his remarks at 8:05 p.m. Tuesday, breaking Thurmond’s 68-year-old record to thunderous applause.

“This is a moral moment, it’s not left or right, it’s right or wrong,” Booker said as he concluded his day-long remarks. “Let’s get in good trouble. My friend, madam president, I yield the floor.”

Booker’s speech was not technically a filibuster because it didn’t come during a debate over a specific bill. But he did disrupt official business as his speech delayed the Senate’s scheduled Tuesday afternoon session until Wednesday.

The moment picked up traction, with tens of thousands viewing it on YouTube and 150 million views on a clip on TikTok, in a moment when Democrats, resigned to the political minority, have struggled to push back against President Donald Trump even as dramatic changes come down from Washington and constituents implore their party to do more.

In brief remarks to the press after he left the floor, Booker, a little hunched over, said he’d fasted since Friday and stopped drinking water Sunday in anticipation of the undertaking.

“I’m very sore, weary and tired, but I’m enormously grateful for a lot of folks who sent me their very, very personal stories and gave me a chance to speak to the pain or fear, anger that commands a lot of Americans.”

Booker said instead of fighting the urge to go to the bathroom, it was dehydration and muscle cramps and spasms that caused him the most issues.

But during his speech, Booker seemed to only gain energy as he bellowed in the chamber toward the record-setting moment, railing against Trump, becoming emotional reflecting on the history of America, and getting candid about Democrats’ own challenges.

“I confess that I have been imperfect,” he said. “I confess that I’ve been inadequate to the moment. I 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, 55, is one of the most polished orators in his party and his 2019 run for president featured rousing speeches on the trail but a campaign that never managed to catch fire.

What motivates a senator to stand in one place without bathroom breaks or food for hours on end? Booker may have aspirations for another presidential run in 2028. He could also see the big speech as an opportunity to turn Democratic helplessness into a viral moment. He may also have simply wanted to beat the record held by Thurmond, a segregationist.

On the floor, Booker said it was a response to a challenge by his constituents “to do something different … to take risks.”

The former mayor of Newark, who has represented New Jersey in the Senate since 2013, played football in college and has focused on health and wellness in his career. He’s also the first known vegan lawmaker to serve on the Agriculture Committee. Still, Capitol Hill was abuzz Tuesday with questions about how Booker was lasting. Booker’s staffers fielded questions about whether he was wearing a diaper and if he brought snacks. (Only water and milk are technically allowed on the floor.)

Senate rules require a senator, who is able, to remain standing to retain control of the floor, which Booker did.

His staffers removed a chair behind him to avoid the temptation of sitting.

Booker spoke to a largely empty chamber overnight Monday into Tuesday.

Throughout the day on Tuesday, Democratic lawmakers joined him, and people taking Capitol tours sat in the gallery peering down as the hours ticked by. A series of rotating Republican senators presided during the entire speech, as is required when the Senate is in session.

Seventeen hours in, Booker shifted in his black suit from leg to leg, hands behind his back. He occasionally wiped his brow with a napkin and took small sips of water.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joined the chamber at 10:30 a.m. and commended Booker’s “strength, clarity, and fortitude.”

“All of America is paying attention,” Schumer said.

Booker’s staffers passed him occasional notes as he stood at his desk podium. Behind the scenes, the office was dealing with an incident that occurred Monday night in which a special assistant to Booker was arrested on Capitol Grounds for possessing a weapon.

The staffer, a driver for Booker who is a retired Newark police officer according to his staff, walked with Booker past a security checkpoint and later told a Capitol police officer he had a firearm on him, police said.

“All weapons are prohibited from Capitol Grounds, even if you are a retired law enforcement officer, or have a permit to carry in another state or the District of Columbia,” Capitol Police said in a statement, confirming the arrest.

In a statement, Jeff Giertz, a spokesperson for Booker, said the office was “working to better understand the circumstances around this.”

Booker’s speech focused at different turns on Trump billionaire adviser Elon Musk and cuts to the federal workforce, as well as concerns that the administration will slash funding for Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.

“Without our health, we would not be able to do anything else we would not be able to provide for our families, spend time with our loved ones, do all of the things that make life worth living,” he said.

Around the eight-hour mark, he blasted recent steps to dismantle the Department of Education and talked about how those funding cuts would impact teachers.

Hour 10 focused primarily on immigration and what he called the Trump administration’s dangerous approach to enforcement, which he said is undermining public safety and Americans’ constitutional rights.

He interspersed his remarks by reading aloud letters from constituents, including one from a Princeton researcher concerned about cuts to the National Institute of Health.

“I hear you, I see you, and I’m standing here, in part, because of letters like yours,” he said. “This is not normal. These are not normal times.”

A steady trickle of Democratic colleagues helped Booker make it through by stepping onto the floor to ask Booker a question, giving his voice a rest.

Each time Booker carefully said, “I yield for a question but I will retain the floor.”

Sen. Tim Kaine, (D., Va.), who had planned to introduce a resolution opposing tariffs on Canada on Tuesday before Booker delayed business, said he would ask his question in slow motion.

“God Bless you,” Booker responded.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) remained on the floor with Booker for the duration of his speech, a reciprocal move of support after Booker did the same when Murphy filibustered on gun control in 2016.

In 2013, Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) criticized then-President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act in a speech that lasted 21 hours and 19 minutes.

And according to the Senate archives, since 1915, there have been 48 all-night Senate sessions, several of which went more than 24 hours. The longest was a 1960 debate over a civil-rights bill that lasted 125 hours and 16 minutes with one 15-minute recess.

But the record of an individual speech belonged to Thurmond.

Murphy, in remarks just before Booker broke Thurmond’s record, paid homage to the historic moment. Booker, the first Black senator from New Jersey, broke a record made during a speech opposing passage of the Civil Rights Act.

“Strom Thurmond was standing in the way of inevitable progress,” Murphy said. “Today you are standing in the way not of progress but of retreat.”

Booker replied to him moments later, saying: “I’m not here because of his speech,” Booker said of Thurmond. “I’m here despite his speech.”

As the clock hit 7:19 p.m., Schumer asked if Booker would yield for a question.

“Do you know that you have just broken the record? Do you know how proud this caucus is of you?” Schumer said as the gallery and the floor, now filled with Democratic Senate colleagues, stood to applaud.

As the standing ovation continued, Booker looked upward with bloodshot eyes, patted his lapel, and said: “I know now.”