Sen. Cory Booker delivering his record-breaking speech from Monday, March 31 - Tuesday, April 1, 2025. | Thumbnail done on Canva. Image taken from https://vitalk.com.br/source/when-did-cory-booker-start-his-filibuster-5-things-to-know-about-senator-cory-booker
March 31 – April 1, 2025
“I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able. I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our nation is in crisis.” Cory Booker, the senior Democratic senator from New Jersey, said to his colleagues at the start of his speech on Monday, March 31.
“The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent and we all must do more to stand against them. Generations from now will look back at this moment and have a single question – where were you?” He continued on. “In just 71 days, the president of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans’ safety; financial stability; the core foundations of our democracy. These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”
This was just the beginning of Booker’s iconic speech…
His speech began at 7 p.m. EDT, and concluded at 8:05 p.m. Booker’s speech surpassed the previous longest recorded speech in Senate history, which was then Democrat Strom Thurmond’s 24 hour and 18 minute-long filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (who later became a Republican), where he aimed to deny Black Americans equal protections under federal law. “I’m here because as powerful as he was, the people are more powerful,” Booker said, referring to the Thurmond’s filibuster from 68 years ago and reflecting on his roots as a descendant of both slaves and slave-owners.
Under Senate rules, unless special limits on debate are in effect, a senator who has been recognized by the presiding officer can speak for as long as they wish, according to the Congressional Research Service. Although Booker speech was not a filibuster, it was his main goal to protest Trump’s second presidency and the operations of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, and the dangers that pose to the US democracy and its people, while answering questions and maintaining the floor.
“These are not normal times in America and they should not be treated as such. I can’t allow this body to continue without doing something. The threats to America’s democracy are grave and urgent… The most powerful man in the world and the richest man in the world have taken a battle axe to the Veterans’ Association, a battle axe to the Department of Education, a battle axe to the only agency solely focused on protecting consumers against big banks and other factors that might abuse them. What will we do in this body? What will we do in the House of Representatives? Right now the answer is nothing.”
After reaching the milestone…
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asked Booker a question. “I just want to tell you a question: Do you know you have just broken the record? Do you know how proud this caucus is of you? Do you know how proud America is of you?” The room, with more than a dozen Democrats present, erupted into a long round of applause. Booker, emotional, wiped his face with a tissue and put his hand over his heart.
After his record-breaking speech, with his voice cracking from dehydration and exhaustion, Booker explained how he prepared for his speech. He shared the following in a video with BBC: “My strategy was to stop eating. I stopped eating on Friday, and then to stop drinking on the night before I started on Monday and that had its benefits and it had its downsides. So, instead of fighting – or figuring out how to go to the bathroom, I ended up I think really unfortunately dehydrating myself and I’m a former athlete so I know when you need to hydrate you have a lot of cramps, and that was the biggest thing I was fighting.” He thanked staff and colleagues as well after a brief prayer, acknowledging, “I kept you up 24 hours.” Booker then expressed he was going to “deal with some of the biological urgencies I’m feeling”.
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who led Democrats in a push for gun control legislation after the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016 in Orlando, Florida. Booker was by his side for that entire 15 hour-long speech, and later said that Murphy had returned the favor.
What are your thoughts on Sen. Cory Booker’s speech? Do you believe it was necessary for the speech to last over 25 hours? Or do you think breaking the 68-year-old Senate record was justified? Tune in for more articles, and don’t forget to hit the comment button on your right-hand side to share your thoughts and critiques on this matter!
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/31/politics/booker-senate-floor-speech-trump-protest/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/01/nx-s1-5347318/cory-booker-senate-speech
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/15/482182468/live-video-democrats-to-hold-floor-indefinitely-in-push-for-gun-control
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strom_Thurmond
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyq24388ppo