Cory Booker gives hours-long speech on Senate floor in protest of Trump administration

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker on Monday night spent hours speaking from the Senate floor about the new Trump administration, declaring he would speak for as long as he is "physically able."

The senator began speaking at approximately 7 p.m., according to The Hill, and is continuing to speak at the time of publishing. 

Booker said that he was speaking for the "Americans who are being harmed, and not being heard" by the administration in a post on X before his speech. The address also occurred on the national Trans Day of Visibility.

“Tonight, I rise with the intention of getting in some good trouble,” Booker said in his opening remarks. “I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis, and I believe not in a partisan sense, because so many of the people who have been reaching out to my office in pain, in fear, having their lives upended, so many of them identify themselves as Republicans.”

The senator said that voters on both sides of the political aisle have expressed concerns over the state of the country.

“In just 71 days, the President of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans’ safety; financial stability; the core foundations of our democracy; and even our aspirations as a people from our highest offices for a sense of common decency,” Booker said. “These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”

The comment refers in part to a flood of tariffs that have been issued against China, Canada and Mexico in recent months, causing economic uncertainty in the U.S. and after the administration terminated thousands of federal employees.

The speech comes as the Democratic Party struggles to find a unified leader, after Republicans defeated the party in November. Republicans won back the White House, flipped the Senate and retained control of the House. 

Booker is not expected to set any records for his marathon speech. Former Sen. Strom Thurmond holds the record for the longest speech when he spoke on the floor for 24 hours and 18 minutes to oppose the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, and Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul have all given marathon speeches in the past decade. Merkley's was the most recent in a boycott against Neil Gorsuch's confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2017, according to CNN.

The speech can be viewed here.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.