Cory Booker Shatters Senate Record for Longest Floor Speech, Surpasses Infamous Filibuster Against Civil Rights Act

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) set the record for the longest floor speech in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday. In doing so, he eclipsed a filibuster by Sen. Strom Thurmond (D-SC), who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Booker’s marathon speech was not in opposition to a particular piece of legislation. As such, it’s not technically a filibuster. Rather, he used the time to rail against President Donald Trump, White House adviser Elon Musk, and the broader Trump agenda.

By the time he concluded his speech, Booker had held the floor for 25 hours and five minutes.

“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 to begin his speech on Monday evening. “I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis.”

Occasionally during his speech, the 55-year-old yielded to Democratic colleagues several times to field their questions, which gave the senator some much needed breaks. On Tuesday night, he yielded for a question from Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI). As she spoke, Booker could be heard off camera indicating that he intended to speak for “25 hours.”

Upon breaking the record, Booker yielded to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who noted his colleague’s accomplishment. Those in the chamber responded by giving Booker a round of applause.

Thurmond, whose record Booker broke, spoke for just over 24 hours to oppose the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The senator, who later broke with the Democrats over Civil Rights and became a Republican, ranted against the bill, which called for a greater federal role in overseeing racial desegregation in the south following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. The bill passed hours after Thurmond finished his speech. Thurmond served as a senator until 2003 when he retired at age 100.

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