At 6:59 p.m. on March 31, Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey (D) took to the Senate floor, aiming to protest the actions of the Trump administration and with the “intention of disrupting the normal business” for as long as he was “physically able.” He began by quoting John Lewis — we need to get in “good trouble, necessary trouble.”
By 6:06 p.m. the next day, Sen. Cory Booker had officially given the longest speech ever given on the Senate floor.
Booker’s Marathon speech was not a filibuster, to clarify. A filibuster would be to prevent the passage of a specific piece of legislation, while Booker’s address was meant to critique the Trump administration in general. Booker’s speech had to follow the stringent Senate rules — to remain standing and forgo bathroom breaks. It was a powerful agenda that became the longest speech ever given on the Senate floor at a staggering 25 hours and five minutes. He did not repeat a single thing. Instead, he shared stories and letters from his constituents, facts from the administration, and the premise of civil rights.
“If America hasn’t broken your heart, then you don’t love her enough.”
– Sen. Cory Booker quoting himself from 2020
More importantly, Sen. Booker broke the record previously held by then 68-year-old Sen. Strom Thurmond, a segregationist Democrat from South Carolina. Thurmond spoke in a filibuster against the Civil Rights Act in 1975 for 24 hours and 18 minutes. Booker walked on the floor aware of this record hanging over his head, later describing it as a “strange shadow hanging over this institution,” as the longest speech disregarding all the ‘Nobel causes,’ issues, and achievements that have arisen since. Senator Booker, one of five African American Senators in the 100-member Senate at the moment, addressed being a descendant of slaves and slave owners. In a moment of terrific irony, he fought for the rights of America and broke the record that tried to take them away.
“I’m here because as powerful as [Sen. Thurmond] was, the people are more powerful.”
– Sen. Cory Booker on Sen. Strom Thurmond’s previously held speech record
Who is Senator Cory Booker?
Sen Cory Anthony Booker is a senior US Senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held for the past 12 years. A former football tight end at Stanford, Booker earned his law degree from Yale and began as a Nonprofit Attorney at his own nonprofit organization that provided legal services for low-income families. Cory Booker was elected to the Newark City Council at the age of 29 and served as Mayor from 2006 to 2013. He also ran for the 2020 presidential election but fell short, stating that he did not have the resources to be “competitive moving forward.”
In Oct. 2013, Sen Booker won the election to represent his state in the United States Senate and has served in his seat since. His major focuses over his tenure have been on the criminal justice system and ending mass incarceration, the economic policy, expanding opportunity, increasing wages, limiting corporate policies and concentration, and protecting the Affordable Care Act. A notable step he took was the First Step Act, a law since Dec. 2018. This Act was a bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation to allow the incarcerated to properly prepare a re-entry into society and make the justice system fairer.
Sen Booker has been a major cornerstone in the policies and efforts of the Democrats, even as we consider speeches. In 2016, he stood by Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy as he took the Senate floor for 15 hours to protest gun control legislation following the Pulse nightclub shooting. Murphy repaid his debt, standing by Booker and arranging the questions he fielded from other Democrats.
Individual prep meets party effort
In addition to Chris Murphy, other democrats such as Sen. Chuck Schumer (NY), Sen DIck Durbin (IL), and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) also aided Booker in his efforts by asking questions to allow him breaks. The last person to hold the floor for a record close to Booker’s was Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, protesting Obamacare, for 21 hours. His advice to Booker was simple — “nothing in, nothing out” — in reference to food or water.
To prepare for his speech, Sen. Cory Booker dehydrated himself starting the night before and had been preparing by fasting for days beforehand. As the hours went on, his stomach began cramping, and he began shifting his weight between his feet. Booker only consumed some water, no food, and remained standing until he limped out of the floor over a day later. This can pose many serious health risks, such as kidney damage and urinary tract infections.
Key Issues
Booker did not repeat a single issue over the 1,164 pages of his speech that addressed issues with medicare cuts, the deteriorating state of civil rights, and the impending healthcare and economic crisis. Trump’s promises and their progression, and in turn the destruction they caused, were the center stage. The marathon speech focused on policies relating to healthcare, immigration, education, and social security. Booker quoted the letters from his constituents to show the effects of the policies and the moral obligation of the public and the government to counter them. His letters let him know that Americans are scared, terrified to speak up. Booker wants them to know he’s “scared too.”
Healthcare
On the topic of Healthcare, Booker spoke about the Republican tendency to propose demolishing an existing plan without a solution for the healthcare system in its place. Booker used the late Sen. John McCain from Arizona as an example. Sen. McCain addressed the healthcare vote in 2017, killing his own party’s Obamacare repeal bill because of the flaws in the process of ‘closed-door negotiations,’ ‘lack of hearings,’ and the simple lack of a developed plan. A third of the country relies on to pay for the tax cuts. Stating that he “can’t believe we’re here again,” Booker drove his point home with the Republican efforts to cut back on Medicaid. Though no specific provision has been made to eliminate Medicaid, the republicans have stated that they will go after “waste, fraud, abuse” and cause deep spending cuts in unspecified programs. Medicare, like Social Security, is a lifeline for many people and families with disabilities and is being gutted to offset the tax breaks pushed for by the President. Tax breaks for the wealthy. To fuel this, spending has been reduced from Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, according to the Independent Congressional Budget Office.
“I got out of the Navy, I had mental illness… Because of Medicare I have medicine that has kept me out of the hospital for 18 years.”
– A consituent letter read by Senator Booker
He expressed concerns over proposed reductions to Social Security benefits and the efforts of the “DOGE,” Department of Government Efficiency, headed by billionaire Elon Musk. In addition to many staffers being fired, there’s growing confusion about what benefits people are still able to access. Booker emphasized that after working Americans, especially those with families to feed and disabilities to consider, put years of sweat and hard-earned money into this fund. It isn’t “the Government’s money to use.” And though Trump pledged not to touch the program, DOGE leaves it inaccessible.
“Please, sir, do not let this happen, Senator Booker. That is my money. I earned it. I earned my Social Security by my contributions, and I earned my pension by my service.”
-75 year-old constituent from Runnemede, NJ
Education
At 3 a.m., Booker criticized Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education and reduce funding for teachers. “Education is for all,” said Booker, and not just the elites who can afford it. He emphasized that genius is equally distributed within the nation, and education brings forward the best of everything to the American democracy. To further detail why he believes the administration is harming it, he noted how Trump “[fired] about half of its staff, gutting its respected education-research arm, and vastly narrowing the focus of its civil rights division.” Federal money only accounts for about 10% of K-12 school funding nationwide. This is confusing since Trump has made claims about returning the power of education to the states and school districts. The fact is, it already exists there. The Federal Department, claims Booker, “does not control learning standards or reading lists.” Its role is in monitoring, funding, and disseminating research. This funding and vital educational programs have been significantly scaled back by the new administration.
Immigration
Around 5 a.m., Booker moved to condemn the administration’s immigration policies, citing specific cases around the country. Appalled, like many of us around the country, he addressed the absurdity that the government walks up to a human on the street, puts them on a plane, and sends them to the most notorious prisons in the world. With ironic humor, he added that that’s what one of the authorities did, calling it an “oopsie.” This lack of due process, something affecting many college campuses, specifically UConn, is why many students and people who may even be legal immigrants are getting their visas revoked. Many of these students have sued the Government for their lack of due process. Terminating their visas leaves them on the precipice of detention or deportation. The administration’s approach to public safety and our constitutional rights is flawed.
Moral Responsibility
Sen. Booker invoked the teachings of civil rights leaders to emphasize moral accountability. Namely, he disrupted the normal Senate business to get in some “good trouble,” as John Lewis would advise for a country in crisis. He repeated a theme of needing to correct the history for the future — to be able to say you took action when healthcare was cut, the Department of Education was suffering, veterans were losing jobs, and the pediatric cancer research funds were being slashed. “Where were you,” Booker asks, “when the American press was being censored?”
“I believe generations from now will look back at this moment and have a single question: “Where were you? Where were you when our country was in crisis and when American people were asking for help? Help me. Help me.” Did we speak up?
Booker on our moral obligation to step in.
Does Booker’s Speech change anything?
It’s been over two weeks since his address, and there is some needle pushing to note following his speech. First, there is the symbolism in reclaiming a historic record from someone who had belittled the rights that have since evolved and which we continue to fight for. Booker brought up many of the Trump administration’s actions, including mass layoffs, the lack of judicial authority, and the threat it poses to democracy. All of this was not only covered by many major news outlets, but the courage and strength it took for Booker to speak up and for so long has caught traction among the people, as it did with the media. Particularly, Booker debuted his own TikTok page with videos scheduled to gain public attention while his speech went on. It amassed over 350 million likes on TikTok and more than 28,000 voicemails of encouragement to Booker.
From a personal and party standpoint, this also pushes forward Booker’s name for a 2028 Democratic Presidential Nominee. It redeems, according to the public, some of the negligence allegedly noted in the actions of the party in general and in specific response to the current presidency. Republican pollster Frank Luntz noted that there are alterations in the political dynamic following Booker’s performance.
If looked at from a tangible point of view, no, Booker’s speech did not swing voters or stop a particular piece of legislation. But, if my personal opinion counted for much, I’d say it gave hope and a rallying point for the opposition. A notable action to follow his speech was the ‘Hands Off’ movement. Launched on April 5, this is a democratic public resistance movement across multiple areas of the United States to protest the Trump Administration.
With Booker’s speech, the fight has not ended. It has just begun. It continues to move forward with a different hope, one that powers the public voice to join the one that spoke from the Senate floor. To learn more and research, stay tuned and stay informed!