The Moment Sen. Cory Booker Broke The Filibuster Record

ICYMI: History was made on the floor of the United States Senate this week, and it included a couple of ties to Wisconsin.

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker began speaking Monday evening about the need to resist President Donald Trump’s massive firings and cuts to essential programs. He held the floor for 25 hours and 5 minutes to show the ways that Democrats are provided a contrast to Trump and Elon Musk. While it wasn’t an official “filibuster” because it wasn’t designed to hold up a bill being debated, it still set the mark for longest continuous speech—breaking a 1957 milestone set by segregationist Strom Thurmond to oppose passages of a civil rights bill.

Fellow Democrats gave Booker moments to rest his voice by asking lengthy questions. Sen. Tammy Baldwin outlined the many ways Wisconsin workers are being hurt by Trump’s assault on workers, research, health care, and economic stability.

Booker also read a note sent to him by a Chippewa Falls woman, his voice cracking as he relayed her concerns about losing her financial lifeline from Social Security as she lives with Parkinson’s Disease—an affliction that also impacted Booker’s father.

Watch the moment Booker is notified by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer that he had made history with a speech that was watched by Americans across the country seeking more public resistance to Trump’s attacks on due process, economic stability, and US allies.