Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey has set the record for the longest speech ever given on the Senate floor.
Booker began his speech Monday night and was still speaking more than 24 hours later about what he called a "crisis" instigated by President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans in the Legislative Branch.
As he neared the end of his speech, there was sustained applause from Democrats in the chamber, and Sen. Booker thanked his staff and colleagues in the Senate.
The country faces not a left-right crisis, but "a right-wrong crisis," Sen. Booker said, explaining the threats to social security and Medicaid. "I stood here because there's a threat to these bedrock commitments."
"It's a moral moment. Who do we stand for?"
Sen. Booker ended his speech at 8:05 Eastern Time on Tuesday, having held the floor for a total of 25 hours and four minutes.
RELATED STORY | Senate confirms Jay Bhattacharya as director of the National Institutes of Health
"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; and even our aspirations as a people from our highest offices for a sense of common decency," Sen. Booker said at the outset on Monday. “These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”
Sen. Booker was armed with a binder full of reference material — pausing for other Democrats to ask him questions. His marathon speech surpassed the previous record for the longest Senate floor speech, which was set by then-South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond in 1957 after he spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes.
While Sen. Booker's speech ran long enough to overlap with Senate business on Tuesday, it is not a formal filibuster because it will not delay any outstanding vote on nominations or legislation. However, it could force Republicans to push back their legislative schedule this week.
This is not the first time Booker has spoken for hours at length. In 2016, he gave a 15-hour speech to draw attention to gun violence in the country.
