Sen. Cory Booker Sets Record With Senate Meltdown

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has broken the record for the longest recorded floor speech in U.S. Senate history, surpassing 24 hours.

Booker began a filibuster on March 31, 2025, to protest policies linked to President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, focusing on issues like Medicaid cuts and environmental deregulation.

WATCH: Senator Cory Booker Has Complete MELTDOWN On Senate Floor

Booker broke the record previously held by Sen. Strom Thurmond in 1957, whose speech against the Civil Rights Act lasted 24 hours and 18 minutes.

Sen. Cory Booker has broken the Senate's record for longest floor speech set in 1957 when Strom Thurmond spoke against the Civil Rights Act https://t.co/iobxBPPvSS

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) April 1, 2025

Per CNN:

The New Jersey Democrat, whose speech began at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, is still speaking in protest of actions taken by President Donald Trump’s administration. Booker vowed at the outset of his remarks to keep going as long as he was “physically able,” delivering his remarks through the night, well into Tuesday morning and continuing into the evening.

The marathon speech from Booker, who is a member of the Senate Democratic leadership team, comes as his party face increasing pressure from their voters to take a harder line against Trump.

Locked out of power in Washington, Democrats have limited options and have struggled to find a unified strategy to counter the administration, but Booker’s speech stands out as one of the most high-profile forms of protest by a Democratic lawmaker so far in Trump’s second term.

The speech effectively delayed any legislative business in the Senate on Tuesday as it stretched late into the day, though it amounts to a primarily symbolic rebuke as Booker was not attempting to hold up any specific piece of legislation.

WATCH:

BREAKING: Sen. Cory Booker nears 24 hours giving speech on Senate floor

He now holds the record for the second-longest Senate speech & can break the record in 30+ minutes.

He has not eaten or left the chamber to use the restroom. pic.twitter.com/I2AmJdhTqw

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 1, 2025

Just in: Cory Booker has set the record for the longest Senate speech in American history.

Booker breaks Strom Thurmond’s 1957 record, which was 24 hours and 18 minutes long.

Are you impressed by this? pic.twitter.com/A39Pf09KFL

— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) April 1, 2025

USA TODAY reports:

Booker said that he decided to undertake the marathon speech because Democrats have a "responsibility" to "do something different" in the face of the unprecedented changes taking place in the first few months of Trump's second term as president.

"I've been hearing from people all over my state and indeed all over the nation calling upon folks in Congress to do more," Booker said in a video posted to X before taking to the floor. "To do things that recognize the urgency, the crisis of the moment."

Booker said he plans to speak for as long as he is "physically able to." He cannot sit or leave the Senate floor for a bathroom break; otherwise, he would lose his right to hold the floor. If he doesn't leave or sit down, no senator can stop him.

The Democratic base has been urging lawmakers to do more to push back on the Trump administration, which has been dismantling or dramatically cutting federal agencies, enacting a widespread deportation campaign and redefining the relationship between the three branches of government.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has faced calls for primary challengers and protests outside his home after he voted with Republicans to keep the government open. Elsewhere, constituents have yelled at Democratic members at town halls, pleading with them to be more forceful in speaking out against Trump.