Murkowski congratulates Booker for ‘historic feat’ after marathon speech

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a moderate Republican, congratulated her colleague, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), on setting the new record for longest Senate floor speech Tuesday.

“Whether you agree with him or not, the past 24+ hours was what most people think a filibuster actually looks like,” Murkowski wrote in a post on the social platform X, shortly after Booker set his record.

“Congratulations to @SenBooker for his historic feat (while staying on his feet!),” she added.

Booker, the No. 4 Democrat in the Senate, took the floor at 7 p.m. EDT Monday and spoke for 25 hours and 5 minutes, finally yielding the floor at 8:05 p.m. Tuesday.

He set the record for the longest floor speech in Senate history, topping the previous mark of 24 hours and 18 minutes held by former Sen. Strom Thurmond (S.C.), who was protesting the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Booker used his marathon speech to decry potential GOP spending cuts in the looming tax bill and policies put in place by the Trump administration.

Throughout the speech, Booker was required to remain standing and was prohibited from leaving his desk. The New Jersey Democrat had a Senate page take away his chair so he was not tempted to sit down throughout his speech, according to Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). 

Booker was helped by scores of Democratic colleagues who appeared on the floor to ask him questions, with some speaking on their own for minutes on end to temporarily ease the burden. 

He also received a minibreak at noon Tuesday, when he suspended his speech to allow the Senate to hold the opening prayer. Senate Chaplain Barry Black specifically mentioned the Senate floor staff, Capitol Police, stenographers and pages who worked “throughout the night” and thanked them for their work. 

But it was Booker who largely talked throughout, having declared he was ready to “stand here for as many hours as I can.”