EDIT: Livestream here.
As of 11:50am PST he’s still going, so getting close to 19 hours now.
Summary:
Sen. Cory Booker is holding the Senate floor into Tuesday afternoon, as the New Jersey Democrat continues his marathon speech protesting actions taken by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Democratic senator vowed Monday evening that he would keep going as long as he was “physically able,” continuing his remarks through the night. As of noon Tuesday, he had spoken for more than 17 hours, having begun at 7 p.m. ET Monday.
Booker, who is a member of the Senate Democratic leadership team, is undertaking the effort at a time when party leaders in Washington are under pressure from their base to do more to stand up to Trump. He has castigated Trump’s efforts with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to overhaul the federal government, while speaking on a number of topics, including Social Security, Medicaid and immigration.
“I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able,” Booker said at the outset of his remarks. “I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis.”
“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,” Booker said. “These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”
Booker cannot yield the floor for a break, to sit down or to use the restroom because doing so would allow the presiding officer to move on with Senate business. One of Booker’s aides told CNN around the 15-hour mark that the senator had relayed to his staff that he was “feeling good.”
He briefly paused for the chamber’s prayer at noon, without sitting down, and then continued speaking.
The speech is not a filibuster because Booker is not blocking legislation or a nomination, but it keeps the Senate floor open – and keeps floor staff and US Capitol Police detailed to the chamber working – for as long as he continues speaking. Lawmakers had concluded voting on Monday before he began his remarks.
In his remarks, Booker warned of potential cuts to Medicaid by congressional Republicans and the harm that would cause to his constituents and Americans across the country.
22 hours and he’s still going as of 5pm EST
OK, no matter how you feel about the effectiveness of this, gotta admit it’s impressive.
Imagine if he put this effort into opposing genocide instead of supporting it. We might have less fascism.
When did he support genocide?
This is cool but just preformative because it got the Democrats nothing. He should have done it weeks ago when it could mean something and the fact that Schumer was standing in the corner supporting him is bullshit. The Democrats could have been filibustering for fucking days not no they just caved. Do this shit when it means something.
As a person of color it means a hell of a fucking lot. Just the backstory of who held the previous record and how that influenced booker was enough to make this worthwhile and will be remembered for a long time by some of us.
Yes he broke the record, but also yes, he accomplished absolutely nothing other than breaking the record…… both can be true
Strom Thurmond held the previous record for attempting to block civil rights legislation
Cory Booker broke his record for no reason other than to break the record, commendable I suppose but he accomplished nothing…. I don’t even think he was trying to accomplish anything other than to break the record
Edit: I’m glad the record is broken and that we can move Thurmond racist piece of trash strom to the sidelines
He should have done this 2 weeks ago when they gave the Republicans everything they wanted with their spending bill.
Call me when something changes or someone actually goes to jail.
I’m not that into theatrics by Pfizer’s plant Democrat.
You don’t get change, real change, without a following. Even if it’s “for show” this is getting a lot of attention. The Republican base is probably not going to come around until they actual lose their jobs or see businesses they care about shuttered, if even that gets them out of their trance, but the people that think this is just a repeat of Trump’s first term need to get hammered with all the bullshit that’s going on. Day to day I really wouldn’t know that anything sinister is happening in DC. By the time it finally comes around the DOE might already be repurposed as a Tesla factory or the CDC turned into a reform center for wayward youths and totally not a front for sex trafficking.
“dont do anything” isn’t a viable solution.
Maybe do something your damn self instead of waiting for someone to call you. Democracy is about participation. How entitled to expect everyone else to do the work for you.
Maybe not discourage people who want to protect their rights and the constitution would be a good thing.
protect their rights and the constitution
Oxymoron.
Technocrit doing their best to emulate Booker and keep this thread alive for as long as possible.
Very impressive. Very meaningful!
Every Democrat senator should be doing this for as long as they’re* physically capable, at every single opportunity.
I’ve never been a fan of Booker but hot damn am I excited watching him close in on Klansman Thurmond’s record.
At a certain point doesn’t the GOP just say “ok, we are eliminating the filibuster rule”?
This technically isn’t a filibuster, apparently.
But yes, they could suspend the filibuster rule, potentially. I’m not sure of the specifics. It might require 60 votes?
This is not a filibuster… No record broken.
Who cares what it’s called? That doesn’t matter.
Neither does talking for 25 hours, blocking legislation does.
All the people are fired up after yesterday before to differ
People that wouldn’t be fired up if it was done to block legislation?
At the time of posting, he is ~5 hours out from the record.
Edit, 3 hours, I cant read clocks…
It’s not a filibuster…
The pointless talking record? I’m pretty sure someone else must have babbled pointlessly for longer.
He beat it.
A neat fact: the longest filibuster in history was the against the Civil Rights Act in 1957. 24 hours and 18 minutes. Civil Rights Legislation passed two hours later.
Booker has done a 10-day hunger strike, so I imagine he sees that as child’s play.
5 minutes from beating the record
… if this were a filibuster…
And this is why Cory is one of my fav senators, and I’m not in Jersey. EDIT: I regret saying this, he supports Israel.
I hope he breaks the record that Thormud made when protesting the Civil Rights Act of 1957. It would look kinda cool that it was broken to help stop what Thormud wanted in the future.
EDIT: He has https://apnews.com/article/cory-booker-new-jersey-senator-speech-ab573bb7c3c76fa107cacac7136d3823
The actual Eugene Debs is rolling in his grave.
Probably, hes the least bad politician in America.
He did!
While I find this aspect of US politics weird and I don’t know much about this specific politician, it’s nice to see someone doing something other than holding up those weird and useless signs during the address last month.
If this last election and the last administration has shown anything it is that the Democrats must start over the rebuild the party. They need to use these next four years working on rebuilding their image and winning over Americans.
It’s too late
Disgrace to the name of sprog. Only one poem for sprog that I have found in the last three months, and its not even a good poem, and it was only given when someone else complained at the lack of a poem. Too much sprog, insufficient poem. Will the real Poem For Your Sprog please stand up?
Senator Booker stood on the floor
For a day (plus an hour five minutes)
To speak out on Orange acts all should deplore,
Though at last even he found his limits.Observers made comments showing support,
“At last, at least some piece of action!”
Yet others despaired and were seen to retort,
“Too late!” for the Democrat faction.But a rare beam of hope as a flash in our lives
Shines all the more bright for the dark.
And signals perhaps—gives a reason for why—
His speech shows an important markOf a record, now smashed, was hereto unbroken,
And for 70 years sowed division.
If for no other change we’ll know that he’s spoken
And created historic revision.
That’s not a poem
It would have been nice if this dude actually fought fascism by opposing genocide.
The record was broken and he’s still going!
He is more coherent after 24 hours standing and speaking than Trump is on his best days.
Has he been peeing into a bottle or did he get a catheter?
Depends.
There’s a loophole where his coworkers can ask him a really long question and as long as he’s back by the time they’re done, it’s all good.
Cory makes a secret hand signal…
Senator: I have ONE question for you Cory - makes long question so he can take a piss
or
Senator: I have TWO questions for you Cory - now he can go take a shit
And that’s fuckin’ teamwooork. -tenacious D
He told NPR afterwards that he fasted for a while before trying this; and even skipped out on water for a bit: https://www.npr.org/2025/04/01/nx-s1-5347318/cory-booker-senate-speech
(edit) I misspoke, NPR reported that “he told reporters…”
I don’t understand
Then Google it and catch up. Booker is kicking ass and you want a spoon-feed? Not from me.
Yeah you coulda just kept this one to yourself chief
Same goes.
Holy shit you people never understand this do you…
Why does every grandmother know every right wing issue while all of you smuggly keep saying ‘Google it’ while you lose every battle you barely attempt to be mad about
Do your work if you’re so committed to these causes. But the effort in yourselves or stop crying all over the Internet how everyone are fascists and Nazis now.
Make fucking content
Cut the shit and wake up
Well you’ve succeeded at being mad about it. Next maybe instead of spending 7 seconds complaining you don’t understand, spend 11 seconds and know the answer.
If you were a right wing grandmother you would at least have watched enough TV to know something without complaining you had to watch the full segment between commercals. Instead you play the whiny and resentful twit. Sorry I didn’t make a fucking TIKTOK of this issue to fit your goldfish attention span. Channel that rage into voting, calling, and action instead of being a know nothing whiny waste of oxygen. It’s not the job of the world to spoon feed you facts and an opinion.
“I don’t understand”. WELL JESUS FUCKING NUGGET. PUT IN SOME EFFORT YA DINGUS!
Edit: In the time since this comment was made, I have called both my senators and emailed my congressional rep. What have you done?
Wow great job. You win whatever the you think you win here and still have a trump presidency and every other loss socially and politically and still don’t get why
If it gets you and anyone else off their lazy asses it’s a win. And if you “don’t get why”, thanks for your tax money because I’m the one getting breaks on your dime. Hopefully that pisses you off. If it doesn’t, well, my next house will have a pool and you’ll rent. Get mad and DO something!
Just getting off a lazy ass isn’t enough. That’s not a win. Having someone drive two towns over just to stand in the rain and get their heads kicked in by police because they were misinformed how effective a protest would be is not winning. Telling each other we shouldn’t engage because it’s like rolling with pigs is self neutering.
My point is stop thinking that posting an article or making a comment is doing fuck all. Create good fucking content
It’s a shitty form of government literally concocted by slave masters.
What do you not understand?
Do you not understand what the words mean? Do you not understand the purpose? Do you not understand the context? I don’t understand what you don’t understand.
If you’re going to rail on about how people need to do more to educate others instead of telling you to do some basic reading then you can at the very least put some effort into your inquiry.
What the hell is he doing. A democrat man talks for a long time 👍
I think you need to watch a video where someone breaks down how to ask a question.
Maybe or maybe there’s subtext
Based on your other responses I assume that the subtext here is that this didn’t actually achieve anything other than allowing for a democrat to hold the floor and talk for over a day? It’s performative and all it achieves is online discourse vs. what you’d consider to be action? Did I get that right? Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m not a mind reader and you haven’t been very direct, so that’s my interpretation.
How about you just say what you mean? Hiding behind these sorts of bad faith engagements is childish snowflake behaviour.
Actually, I really appreciate you putting that together. Yes, it captures a big part of what I’ve been trying to say.
Maybe it is bad faith, but I also think that speaking directly, especially online, is genuinely hard. Still, one of my biggest frustrations is how difficult it is to spread and sustain important ideas and perspectives.
What really gets me is seeing people pour so much energy into a single protest driving for hours, standing in the rain, even getting arrested but then showing almost no interest in doing something like consistently sharing content online, which is easier and arguably more effective in the long run. That disconnect baffles me. Like posting and commenting on an issue for 24 hrs isn’t enough
And on top of that, there’s a real failure to support strong figureheads or voices who are actually good at communicating the message. These people burn out or get drowned out because there’s no consistent effort to lift them up. It’s like the momentum gets lost the moment the event ends, and without that sustained effort, we just end up watching things fall apart from the sidelines.
Yeah I was definitely a bit snarky but these days, at least from me, you get the effort you give :) no hard feelings, honestly. Before going further, I just want to mention that I am outside of the US so this is more of an outside view - although the problem isn’t isolated to the US.
I appreciate you expanding your point, and I do agree with the general premise of your thoughts, however I believe there is a time and a place. I don’t believe it was really constructive in the context of this article. This action by Booker was probably the most action we’ve seen out of the Democrats in the US. It came across as letting perfection become the enemy of good.
Those who are left leaning within the US absolutely need to do better and be more aggressive in their messaging, but they’re up against a behemoth. Democrats (overall) and Republicans both, have, and are, acting against the best interest of their citizens. This isn’t meant to be a both sides argument, because they’re on different levels, but the rightward shift does not seem like an accident.
The road ahead is a tough one. Progressives obviously can’t rely on traditional media to cover their fight, and complaining about not getting coverage doesn’t really provide anything new. It is known that progressives are shut out by both parties within the US in favour of the status quo, moreso by the right wingers but also very much by the left wingers (I’d say liberals, but for simplicity’s sake used left wing). Nobody wants to give up their comfort despite the system which is providing them that comfort slowly yanking it out, or not resisting those who are, from under them.
We’re in a technological world but those who “control” that world are part of the problem. Social media kind of acts as a pressure release valve for all the anger, which though it can be helpful in spreading a message, or preventing anarchy, seems to prevent meaningful action as well. It’s a tough spot to be in.
Rather than spreading the message online to build up support in numbers that can meaningfully mobilize, it seems that progressives are in a spot where they need those mobilization numbers before even spreading the message lest they want to be shut out by liberals and conservatives alike. I do believe that the numbers are there, but apathy and fear are total bitches and I can understand why people have felt their efforts would be worthless.
At this point I’m just going off on a tangent so I’ll leave it here for now. My final point is this: what Booker did, although not immediately effective in preventing this downfall, was at the least extremely admirable, impressive in terms of will, and hopefully something that starts to get the wheels turning a little bit faster. It’s not an action to be looked at in isolation. Your explained point is correct in that there needs to be more than just celebration of this event, but let’s not put those who DO celebrate it down.
Ayy, that’s my senator! I’ve been calling him and Andy Kim telling them we need them to fight back. Well, here we go. Proud of my great state and while maybe I don’t always see eye to eye with my politicians, I think NJ has been getting better.
The fact that filibusters are a thing tells me a lot about US democracy.
This technically isn’t a filibuster. He’s not blocking any legislation or appointments. He’s just talking, and we know how far talking gets us.
It really is pretty weird. … and interesting. I don’t necessarily think the existence of filibusters is a bad thing, but it definitely a very weird thing.
“Democracy” in USA was literally created by slavers in an attempt to violently enforce their disgusting privilege.
That’s should tell you even more about USA “democracy”. It’s just some gross pact between slavers.
