Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) spoke for 25 hours and 5 minutes on the Senate floor from March 31 to April 1. Screengrab from Sen. Cory Booker’s Youtube
The floor of the Senate was held for over a day by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker in protest against President Donald Trump and his administration.
The 25-hour-and-5-minute speech from March 31 to April 1 broke the record for the longest speech in the Senate, surpassing Sen. Strom Thurmond’s (D-SC) 24-hour-and-18-minute speech against the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1957.
It follows a long tradition of lengthy speeches in the upper chamber of the U.S. Congress — and some creative planning to make it possible.
Senators holding the floor are not allowed breaks to sit or go to the bathroom. Here’s how some of the record-breaking speakers managed to speak for hours.
Sen. Cory Booker
Booker’s preparation started the night before he took the floor, USA Today reported.
He stopped drinking water the night before he took the floor on March 31, but told reporters he started to feel cramps during his daylong speech from dehydration, according to The Hill.
The Senator didn’t eat in the 25-hour period and only occasionally took small sips of water from the two glasses on his desk, the outlet reported.
His staff said 1,164 pages of material were prepared, seen in binders on his desk, to keep Booker talking during the marathon speech.
Sen. Strom Thurmond
The South Carolina senator was the first to hold the floor for more than a day, records show. He did so to interrupt the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1957.
Thurmond came equipped with “pumpernickel bread, sirloin steak, lozenges, fruit juices and water” to fuel himself during the marathon filibuster, historians told the BBC. He also spoke in a “quiet monotone” to look after his voice.
Ultimately, Thurmond’s effort to stop the bill failed, and the legislation passed.
Sen. Ted Cruz
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) held the Senate floor for over 21 hours in 2013 in an attempt to derail the Affordable Care Act, according to Senate Records.
Cruz had some help during the night, though he still was unable to leave to use the restroom, CNN reported. Allies, including Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, stepped in to speak, which temporarily relieved Cruz, according to CNN.
His “trademark” ostrich boots kept him standing all night while he drank very little water and avoided food, according to CNN.
The long speech, which wasn’t technically a filibuster, ultimately did not prevent the passage of a continuing resolution related to the Affordable Care Act, according to The Guardian.
Why Senators spoke for hours
Oregon Sen. Wayne Morse held the record for 4 years with his 1953 attempt to stop the Tidelands bill, which put aside some offshore oil lands as a Navy reserve, according to the Library of Congress. The bill passed, according to Time Magazine.
Louisiana Sen. Huey Long in 1935 carried out a “dramatic filibuster” to try to include Senate confirmations for National Recovery Administration’s senior employees in a New Deal bill, according to the Senate. He yielded the floor in the middle of the night, ending his marathon speech.
Sen. Robert M. La Follette, a progressive Republican, held the longest speech record for nearly half of a century, according to Senate records. He held the floor in a 90-degree room in 1908 to try and block the adoption of a conference report right as the Senate was about to adjourn. Digestive issues caused by eggnog deep into his filibuster ultimately forced him to end after over 18 hours, according to the Senate.
Sen. William Proxmire (D-WI) spoke for 16 hours and 12 minutes, from early evening on Sep. 28 until mid-morning on Sep. 29, against allowing the national debt to go over $1 trillion. Four minutes after recessing, at 10:30 a.m., the Senate reconvened, adjourning at 10:16 p.m.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) tried to stop the nomination of Neil Gorsuch as a Trump-appointed Associate Justice to the Supreme Court in 2017. Gorsuch was later confirmed to the high court.
Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (R-NY) started a filibuster in favor of an amendment to a 1992 tax bill. His efforts failed, according to Senate records.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) spoke for over 14 hours against the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Byrd was accompanied by other Senators who also opposed the bill, according to records.
The teams of Senators held the floor for 60 working days hoping to stop the passage of the bill. The Senate eventually invoked cloture and the bill passed.
