Longest Senate Speeches in History: What Booker’s Record Signifies

By speaking for more than 25 hours on the Senate floor, Cory Booker broke Strom Thurmond’s record for the longest speech delivered in Senate history

“These are not normal times in our nation,” began Senator Cory Booker on the evening of March 31, “and they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.” Booker’s powerful opening remarks set the tone for what would soon become the longest speech in U.S. Senate history. Beginning at 7pm, Booker spoke through the night and did not yield the floor until after 8pm the following day, concluding his speech after a record-breaking 25 hours and 5 minutes.

Booker, a 55-year-old Democrat from New Jersey and the former mayor of Newark, has served in the Senate since 2013. He held the floor amid the chamber’s vote to confirm the next U.S. Ambassador to NATO in order to address the state of the nation just ten weeks into President Trump’s second term. “The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent,” he declared. He did not stop to eat, sit, or use the bathroom at any point during his speech, lest he yield the floor.

Cory Booker’s efforts are the latest in America’s history of long Senate speeches, which dates back to the early 20th century. The previous record of 24 hours and 18 minutes – held by South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond for his 1957 filibuster against the passage of the Civil Rights Act – sat for nearly 70 years until Booker’s marathon speech.

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