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U.S. Senator Cory Booker breaks records with marathon speech on floor of US Senate

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Friday, April 4, 2025

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US Senator Cory Booker broke a Senate record for the longest speech of all time, holding the floor for 25 hours and four minutes. The senator's speech began on Monday evening. The action was not officially a filibuster. Media sources across the globe have reported on the event.

The senator's speech ultimately spanned 25 hours and either 4 or 5 minutes, with sources differing on the exact duration. This surpassed the late Senator Strom Thurmond's fillibuster speech delivered in 1957. It lasted 24 hours and 18 minutes. Thurmond was protesting the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

"I rise tonight with the intention of getting in some good trouble," Booker began at 7:00 p.m. Monday (2300 UTC). "I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able. ... The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more to stand against them."

The senator spoke against U.S. President Donald Trump ostensibly, "...cozying up to Putin," referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Numerous other legislators interjected questions and comments during the speech. During the live stream on YouTube, thousands of comments appeared in the chat box, most supportive of the Senator's remarks. Booker also read letters from Americans commenting on the current state of the country.

At 10:25 p.m. (2125 UTC), a legislator asked the senator what families in New Jersey were saying about President Trump's cutting of funding to the US Department of Education. Booker, a Democrat, is a senator from New Jersey and is up for reelection in 2026.

Following the defeat of their candidate, then–Vice President Kamala Harris, in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the Democratic Party has faced declining public support. One NBC poll showed the party’s popularity at a historic low. Some political commentary framed the speech as a notable moment for the party, though such views were published in opinion sections and do not reflect official positions or measurable political outcomes.

Late in the evening of April 1, Booker sent a text message to group subscribers that read, in part: "... it's Cory Booker: I just walked off the Senate floor. I may be tired and a little hoarse, but as I said again and again, this is a moment where we cannot afford to be silent. We must speak up. I am filled with hope. My team just told me that tens of thousands of you have voiced your support for my remarks on the Senate floor."

Booker is New Jersey's first African-American senator. He is 55 years old.


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