New Jersey Senator Cory Booker says he fasted and purposely dehydrated himself before a marathon 25-hour 5-minute long record breaking speech on the Senate floor.
The previous record was held by South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond, who spoke in 1957 for 24 hours and 18 minutes to filibuster the Civil Rights Act.
“I was very aware of Strom Thurmond’s record,” Booker told reporters after the speech. “I’ve always felt it was a strange shadow to hang over this institution … It always seemed wrong.”
Booker was protesting the policies of the Trump misadministration and delayed Tuesday’s legislative business.
He did not sit down, did not leave the chamber to go to the bathroom and did not even wander from from his desk on the Senate floor. He had a page remove his chair, and the temptation to sit. He admitted he was starting to cramp up from lack of water, only taking a few sips from two glasses on his desk.
He concluded his speech by invoking Civil Rights icon John Lewis:
“He said for us to go out and cause some good trouble, necessary trouble to redeem the soul of our nation,” Booker said. “Let’s be bold in American for a vision that inspires with hope. It starts with the people of the United States of America.”
