Sen. Corey Booker, visibly tired, is still upright as a lecturer on the Senator's floor, but continued his marathon speech on Tuesday criticizing the Trump administration. He wanted to shine a spotlight on what is called a “crisis” facing the United States under President Trump.
Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, began his speech at 7pm on Monday, and is still ongoing 21 hours later, lying in the Trump administration's cuts to government service and crackdown on immigration.
“This is neither the right nor the left. Is it right or wrong,” Booker said Tuesday afternoon that his voice was still strong. “This is not a partisan moment, it's a moral moment. Where are you standing?”
The speech was part of an effort to regain the Democratic initiative and to oppose President Trump more assertively. Booker divided his remarks into sections that focus on aspects of the administration's policy, including healthcare, education, immigration and national security.
By Tuesday afternoon, Booker appeared to be pushing to break records by Sen. Strom Thurmond, who delivered the 24-hour, 18-minute filibuster against the Civil Rights Act in 1957. Booker, who has been thinking of giving a marathon floor speech for weeks, has long been plaguing South Carolina separatist Salmond keeps records, according to Booker's office. (The Senate's longest speech log will never return to the establishment of the nation, but it is the longest in Mr. Thurmond's record.)
Because Booker's speech is not a filibuster, it is a procedural tactic used to block laws on many issues and did not come during discussions about specific bills or candidates. But it delayed a planned vote on a Democratic-led bill to cancel Trump's tariffs in Canada.
“As long as I'm physically capable, I'm standing up with the intention of disrupting the normal business in the US Senate,” Booker said near the beginning of Monday's speech. “I'm going to wake up tonight because I truly believe our country is in crisis.”
He attacked what he said was Trump's plan to cut funds for Medicaid, among other programs. The White House has denied plans to cut Medicaid benefits, but the president and his allies have attacked Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security over what they claim was wasted, fraud and abuse.
Going without a break in the bathroom, but occasionally paused to encourage questions from fellow Democrats, Booker read from the binder of the notebook and waved a small copy of the US Constitution. Over the course of hours, his voice cried out. But it continued to boom.
Booker gave lectures and paused several times to allow questions from fellow Democrats, including Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Rafael Warnock of Georgia, without officially abandoning the floor. At the point, Booker's voice seemed to be cracked.
“My voice is enough,” Booker said. “My efforts today are not enough to stop what they are trying to do. But our people are powerful.”
Before his speech, Booker said on social media that billionaire Elon Musk, one of Trump and the president's top advisors, was heading towards the Senate floor, saying that he “completely ignores the rule of law, the constitution and the needs of Americans.”
His social media platform Musk's feed was active Tuesday, but did not mention Booker or his overnight speech. Not so was Trump's true social feed.
When thousands of viewers continued on Booker's official YouTube channel, he cited from a well-known speech by Senator John Lewis and Senator John McCain. At one point he spent about 30 minutes reading an account by Jasmine Mooney, a Canadian citizen.
Since 1915, many of the 48 overnight sessions in the chamber have been defined as lasting just after 4am, but have now come to over 24 hours. Senator Ted Cruz's verbal attack on President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act in 2013 lasted 21 hours and 19 minutes.
Booker handed over Cruz on Tuesday at 4:20pm, then surpassed Thurmond Senate records about three hours later.
Maya C. Miller and Robert Jimison Reports of contributions.
