13 Hours In ,Corey Booker Still Has A Ways to Go to Break Records

Democratic Senator Cory Booker has been speaking against Trump administration policies for over 13 hours now, claiming he will do so for as long as he is “physically able.”

“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 as he began his speech at around 7 p.m. on Monday.

Booker continued all night and into the morning, claiming that “unnecessary hardships are being born by Americans of all backgrounds, and institutions which are special in America, which are precious, which are unique in our country, are being recklessly, and even unconstitutionally affected, attacked, even shattered.”

As long as Booker goes on, he is still on the race to record the longest Senate speech in U.S. history. But even if he’s already on double-digits, he still has a long way to go before his name makes to the historical lists.

The record for the longest Senate speech belongs to Strom Thurmond, who in 1957 spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes as he opposed the Civil Rights Act in 1957. He didn’t get his way as the bill was passed easily, but thoroughly prepared himself for the feat. According to KSAT, he took steam baths to dehydrate his body so it would absorb fluids and he wouldn’t have to go to the bathroom.

In 1986, Senator Al D’Amato fell just short of the 24-hour mark as he protested against a military bill aimed at cutting funding for a jet trainer plane that was going to be built by a company in his home state, New York. He spent most of the day reading the District of Columbia phone book to stall. He eventually was partially successful as a compromise was ultimately reached.

Closer in time was a filibuster by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who in 2013 spoke for over 21 hours to oppose the Affordable Care Act. “Although I am weary, there is still at least strength in my legs to stand a little longer,” Cruz said at one point during the speech.

“But you know what? There’s far more pain involved in rolling over, far more pain in hiding in the shadows, far more pain in not standing for principle, not standing for the good, not standing for integrity,” he added.

Booker’s speech is not a filibuster because he is not seeking to block legislation or a nomination, but part of a campaign to bring visibility to the impact Trump’s policies are having on the people ahead of next year’s midterms.