Sen. Cory Booker Breaks Filibuster Record After Speaking For 25 Hours Without Any Bathroom Breaks

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) has broken the record for the longest speech in Congress after speaking for over 25 hours.

Booker’s filibuster was in protest of the Trump administration.

The Senator from New Jersey began his speech at 7 pm on Monday and ended it just a little after 7 pm on Tuesday.

Booker notably did not take any bathroom breaks or leave the chamber at any time.

Booker’s speech broke the record of Senator Strom Thurmond’s 24-hour and 18-minute filibuster in 1957, which was to oppose the Civil Rights Act.

BREAKING: Democratic Senator Cory Booker just set the record for the longest filibuster in history—on the very same day Congressional Democrats hit an all-time low approval rating of just 21%.pic.twitter.com/cYoH60YSLt

— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) April 2, 2025

Here’s what NPR reported:

Sen. Cory Booker devoted all of Monday night and into Tuesday evening on the Senate floor, delivering an impassioned speech in protest of the Trump administration’s policies. This effort, which also involves numerous other Democrats, has set a record for the longest speech on record given in the chamber.

Booker wiped away tears and placed his hand over his heart as fellow Democrats, including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, cheered. Some, like Sen. Tammy Baldwin, were seen crying, while Rep. Lucy McBath was seen comforting a woman beside her during the applause

“I wanted to not quite wrap this up yet,” he said, praising his staff for their support in preparing for the endurance speech.

The New Jersey Democrat took the podium at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, vowing to speak “for as long as I am physically able.” More than 24-hours later, Booker, who appeared visibly emotional and affected by the exhaustive speech, had broken the record for lengthiest remarks delivered.

Booker’s speech officially surpasses the previous record set in 1957 by noted segregationist Strom Thurmond. Thurmond filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes to oppose the Civil Rights Act.

Booker’s achievement stands in stark contrast to Thurmond’s efforts to deny Black Americans equal protections under federal law.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., an ally and friend of the New Jersey Democrat Booker, took the floor briefly during the marathon speech to commend Booker for his perseverance and to highlight the difference between Booker’s advocacy for social justice and Thurmond’s attempts to uphold a status quo of racial inequity.

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All theater.
Cory Booker is almost at the 24 hours mark on his speech on Senate floor. In less than 30 min, he will beat the record of longest Senate speech.

He hasn't eaten or used the bathroom.

Idiot pic.twitter.com/WV1VzQJIbu

— Sara Rose 🇺🇸🌹 (@saras76) April 1, 2025

Here’s what USA Today reported:

Sen. Cory Booker has not sat down, or even wandered far from his desk on the Senate floor, where he has been delivering a marathon speech railing against President Donald Trump and his administration’s sweeping policy changes.

Since he started speaking at 7 p.m. on Monday night, the senior senator from New Jersey has not eaten. He has periodically sipped from two glasses of water that sit on his desk near five three-ring binders and a box of tissues. And he has not left the chamber to go to the bathroom.

“I’m going to go for as long as I am physically able to go,” Booker said in a video posted to X before taking to the floor.

He added, “I’ve been hearing from people all over my state and indeed all over the nation calling upon folks in Congress to do more. To do things that recognize the urgency, the crisis of the moment. So we all have a responsibility, I believe, to do something different. To cause, as John Lewis said, ‘good trouble.’ And that includes me.”