Sen. Cory Booker is planning to hold the Senate floor for as long as he can in an effort to protest actions by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
The New Jersey Democrat took to the Senate floor on Monday evening, wearing a black suit and armed with a thick binder, and is expected to speak through the night and as far into Tuesday as he can manage. Other Democratic senators are expected to join him on the floor throughout his planned talk-a-thon.
Booker said Monday he is speaking “because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis” and invoked the legacy of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).
“Tonight I rise with the intention of getting in some good trouble — I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able,” he said.
Booker’s marathon session comes as Senate Republicans plan to move forward this week to take their next step in advancing President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” merging together an overhaul of the tax code with border, energy and defense policies.
It also comes as Democrats are under pressure, from inside Congress and outside, to show that they are willing to fight and use the limited leverage they have given that Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House.
Depending on how long he is able to go, he could disrupt Senate business on Tuesday, though his speech technically isn’t a filibuster — the chamber is currently in a limited period of debate time for Matthew Whitaker’s nomination as ambassador to NATO. Booker previously held the floor for roughly 15 hours in 2016 with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) to discuss gun violence.
Booker is expected to cite Wall Street Journal editorials, the Cato Institute and Republican voices to address several issues including “rule of law,” tariffs, corruption and the GOP’s forthcoming reconciliation bill.
Former Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina holds the Senate record for longest solo speech, at 24 hours and 18 minutes — an unsuccessful filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
