Senator Cory Booker now holds the record for the longest speech to the United States Senate. At 25 hours and five minutes, Booker shared his 1,164 pages of prepared material composed of letters and stories told by the American people to protest and fight against president Donald Trump’s policies.
The previous record for a filibuster (which is defined as an extended speech to stall legislation) was 24 hours and 18 minutes long, set 68 years ago by Senator Strom Thurmond. However Thurmond’s speech was intended to prevent the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, primarily intending to prevent or delay the voting rights of African American people in the United States.
Booker smashed the record on April 1, 2025. He started his speech around 7 pm EDT on Monday, March 31, and came to a conclusion around 8 pm EDT on Tuesday, April 1, talking for a total of 1,505 minutes straight. “
Booker has been generally defined as a progressive Democrat, supporting economic prosperity, taxation to combat climate change, educational funding, LGBTQ+ rights, as well as medicare and healthcare acts. Booker has also emphasized the issues of social and racial injustices in our current political atmosphere.
However, Booker’s filibuster wasn’t about breaking a record. NPR reports how Booker was interrupted by Chuck Schumer asking, “Do you know you have just broken the record?”
“I know now,” Booker said after a lengthy ovation. But he wasn’t done: “I want to not quite wrap this up yet.“
Booker’s main theme appeared repeatedly throughout his speech: A call to action for both Democrat and Republican colleagues to protect and fight for the organizations and programs that are vital to the United States public but are being harshly targeted by the Trump administration’s cuts.
Booker used letters from the American public, everyday people who wrote expressing their fears of the economic effects of the current presidential administration and their stresses over the impending budget cuts that affect nearly all Americans. From Medicaid to public schooling to food assistance and so many other federal programs, these cuts are feared to be detrimental, and Booker listened to the people and shared their voices in his speech.
He described this moment in time as a “Moral moment” for America and one that is going to “define the character of our country for years and years to come.”
Booker made political history with his filibuster, but the social impact that he left for the American people meant much more than those 25 hours.
As a high school senior, graduating in about a month, and going into the real world, the political atmosphere is something that is at the front of my mind. So many of the decisions being made right now in our government are going to affect my future, and the future of the people around me.
Seeing Senator Cory Booker not only acknowledge this but also share the voices of everyday people, like myself, that are going to be truly impacted by these governmental changes, helped me to realize that everyday people still have power.
Knowing how electoral colleges work and knowing how unjust our political system is already set up can make one feel as though they don’t have as much power as a politician or a government official.
But Booker is pushing people, like us, to realize that we can make ourselves more powerful by writing letters to senators and congressmen, using our right to vote for causes we care about, and educating ourselves about what’s going on in our ever-changing world.
Although the world, especially politics, can feel overwhelming and scary to approach, the best thing we can do is learn. Learn more about the bills and acts you’re voting on, learn more about congressmen and politicians, and learn more about the perspectives of people around you.
Booker acknowledged in his speech that he was calling out to not only democrats but also republicans and, in general, the whole American people. Which I feel is really important to realize. We are all living in this country together, and trying to understand the people that you think you’re fighting against can possibly help us to realize that there doesn’t have to only be two sides to a story.
