Booker sets record for longest speech in Senate -
After starting a marathon speech at 7 p.m. Monday, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., spent the night on the Senate floor railings railing against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Before breaking the speech record set nearly 70 years ago by former Sen. Strom Thurmond, D/R-S.C., Booker surrendered to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., so he could ask the New Jersey senator a question.
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Everyone in the chamber, gallery, and Senate floor, except for the press, gave Booker a standing ovation.
Senator Tina Smith, D-Minn., was seen wiping tears from her face, while Senator Cynthia Loomis, R-Wyo., gave a standing ovation.
After forty-five minutes, Booker concluded his speech.
Booker received some support from other Senate Democrats, whom he was allowed to speak with during his hour-long show of opposition to the Trump administration.
Booker began his speech by saying that in 71 days, Trump had "done a great deal of damage to American security, financial stability, the foundations of our democracy, and even to our aspirations as a people for a sense of common decency from our highest offices."
The senator claimed that the Trump administration and congressional Republicans were targeting Medicaid and Medicare programs to fund tax cuts for billionaires and corporations.
He spent some of his time reading messages from people writing on a variety of topics, including concerns about Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
Trump has previously indicated that he would not “touch” Americans’ Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits but wants to eliminate fraud.
Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who said he planned to join Booker “throughout his speech,” noted that Booker was “returning the favor” when he “launched a filibuster nine years ago demanding action on gun violence.”
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Murphy, the Democrat, gave Booker some relief by speaking intermittently to get through the marathon session. In a video on social media, Murphy described his colleague’s efforts as “extraordinary.”
Booker said in a video before starting his protest that he planned to continue speaking as long as he was “physically able.”
After delivering a 25-hour sermon, Booker spent some time in his office before facing a group of reporters.
He told reporters that, despite fasting and drinking water for days, his muscles began to tighten during the marathon speech. He even said he was tired and sore.
“I was using a lot of tricks to stay awake longer,” Booker said.
But when asked if his speech was somehow moving the needle and whether Democrats should adopt the same tactics in protesting Trump’s agenda, Booker said he didn’t have much time to digest and think.
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And so, we’ll see what it is. I think a lot of us have to do a lot more, myself included.”
Booker said he was aware of Strom Thurmond’s recorded speech but always thought it was a strange shadow in the Senate.
"I found it strange that he had a record of all the issues raised about the great work that people had done, or what needed to be done to stop it," he said. "I didn't want to set expectations.
[It] was about Americans raising their voices and telling some of their painful stories, very emotional stories, and letting them go and letting God do the rest."
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