A Democratic US lawmaker, Senator Cory Booker, shattered a record for the longest speech in Senate history on Tuesday, staying on his feet for more than 25 hours to deliver a fiery protest against President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cunconstitutional\u201d actions. Booker\u2019s display of endurance \u2014 to hold the floor he had to remain standing and could not even go to the bathroom \u2014 recalled the famous scene in Frank Capra\u2019s 1939 film classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The longest Senate speech on record before Tuesday was delivered by South Carolina\u2019s Strom Thurmond, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Booker, only the fourth Black senator to be popularly elected to the body, blew past that deadline, his voice still strong but emotional as he topped out at 25 hours and five minutes. \u201cStrom Thurmond\u2019s record always\u2026 really irked me,\u201d he later told broadcaster MSNBC. \u201cThat the longest speech on our great Senate floor was someone who was trying to stop people like me from being in the Senate.\u201d The public galleries of the Senate chamber gradually filled as the moment he broke the record approached, with more Democratic lawmakers joining the session \u2014 although Republicans largely stayed away. \u201cThis is a moral moment. It\u2019s not left or right. It\u2019s right or wrong,\u201d Booker said as he wrapped up. He also quoted his mentor John Lewis, a 1960s civil rights movement leader, who urged campaigners to get into \u201cgood trouble,\u201d before finally pronouncing \u201cMadam President, I yield the floor.\u201d The 55-year-old New Jersey native had found a moment for some humour as he passed the record, joking: \u201cI want to go a little bit past this and then I\u2019m going to deal with some of the biological urgencies I\u2019m feeling.\u201d \u2018Foundations of democracy\u2019 Although Booker\u2019s talk-a-thon was not actually blocking the majority Republican Party from holding votes in the Senate, as would be the case in a true filibuster, his defiance quickly became a rallying point for beleaguered Democrats. Booker, a former presidential candidate, seized command in the chamber at 7pm on Monday (4am PKT, Tuesday) and finished at 8:05pm on Tuesday (5:05am PKT). He lashed out at Trump\u2019s radical cost-cutting policies that have seen his top advisor Elon Musk, the world\u2019s richest person, slash entire government programmes without consent from Congress. The senator said Trump\u2019s aggressive seizing of ever-more executive power had put US democracy at risk. \u201cUnnecessary hardships are being borne by Americans of all backgrounds. And institutions which are special in America, which are precious and which are unique in our country, are being recklessly \u2014 and I would say even unconstitutionally \u2014 affected, attacked, even shattered,\u201d Booker said. \u201cIn just 71 days the president of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans\u2019 safety, financial stability, the core foundations of our democracy,\u201d he said. But he had words of encouragement for Trump opponents, saying as he concluded that \u201cthe power of the people is greater than the people in power\u201d. Cramps and sore throat Booker later went into detail about how he withstood the physical demands of the speech. \u201cMy strategy was to stop eating. I think I stopped eating Friday and then to stop drinking the night before I started on Monday,\u201d he told reporters in the Capitol. The approach \u201chad its benefits and had its really downsides \u2026 different muscle groups start to really cramp up\u201d with dehydration, he added. In a statement sent by his office, Booker added that he was \u201ctired and a little hoarse\u201d. Democratic lawmakers, in the minority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, have struggled over how to blunt Trump\u2019s efforts to downsize government, ramp up deportations and shred much of the country\u2019s political norms. \u201cI just want to thank you for holding vigil for this country all night,\u201d Senator Raphael Warnock told Booker on the floor. Booker dedicated much of his speech to criticising Trump\u2019s policies, but to pass the time, he also recited poetry, discussed sports and entertained questions from colleagues. \u201cIf you love your neighbour, if you love this country, show your love. Stop them from doing what they\u2019re trying to [do],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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