Some details on Cory Booker's speech, as I understand them

[Wiz Imp]

He started at 7:00 pm Monday after the scheduled business of the day was concluded so he could effectively take over the Senate and not be forced to stop until he chooses to stop or can no longer physically keep going.

This is not technically a filibuster since he is not trying to block specific legislation.

He can not be relieved by anyone else and can not even sit down - he must remain standing at all times.

While this is a significant symbolic effort on his part, he is technically not disrupting the regular business of the Senate - YET. If he continues past noon, then it will start to block "official" Senate business which is scheduled to resume then.

Under Senate rules, unless special limits on debate are in effect, a senator who has been recognized by the presiding officer can speak for as long as they wish, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

"They usually cannot be forced to cede the floor, or even be interrupted, without their consent," it says.

There are a few requirements they must meet, however. For one, the senator must "remain standing and must speak more or less continuously," the CRS says, which becomes more difficult as the hours pass.

Booker employed another strategy at various points: permitting colleagues to ask questions, which is the only way a senator can yield without losing the floor. But it's only partial relief, the senator must remain standing while others are talking.

Chris Murphy gave a similar speech on gun control legislation in 2016 after the Pulse nightclub shooting. His speech lasted 15 hours.

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/01/nx-s1-5347318/cory-booker-senate-speech

[C_U_L8R]

1. Does he get bathrooms breaks?

cause, of course, gotta know these things.

[nolabear]

2. Nope.

One would imagine “devices” are employed.

[senseandsensibility]

11. He looks a little heavier/bulkier than usual

Maybe he is wearing something under his coat?

[Wiz Imp]

3. Unclear exactly how that is being handled but From the NPR article

The longest filibuster on record was a 1957 speech by then-Democratic Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina — in opposition to the Civil Rights Act — that lasted for 24 hours and 18 minutes.

Media reported at the time that Thurmond sustained himself with "diced pumpernickel and bits of cooked hamburger" and sips of orange juice. His aides set up a bucket in the cloakroom so he could keep a foot on the Senate floor if he needed to relieve himself.

[marybourg]

7. Just by coincidence, I was there on a

family vacation-I was a mid-teenager. I remember the chamber being nearly empty and Thurmond was reading out of a book and gobbling food. I remember thinking he was like a devil ( we were from the Bronx).

[Montauk6]

6. Depends....

[marybourg]

8. There are more elegant solutions now.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Senator Cory Booker has started his 17th hour on the Senate floor during his filibuster.

Link to tweet

Senator Cory Booker has started his 17th hour on the Senate floor during his filibuster.

"Donald Trump is rolling back common sense environmental protections, threatening our children's' futures, and hurting our nation's economy."

Get it, Cory!

[Wiz Imp]

5. Excellent! And from this point forward, he is actually disrupting the "official"

proceedings of the Senate. The Senate is now blocked from doing any business unless/until Booker physically can no longer keep speaking or can no longer remain standing.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. Senator Cory Booker has started his 18th hour of a filibuster on the Senate floor.

https://bsky.app/profile/artcandee.bsky.social/post/3llrezsdgws2l

Link to tweet

[ShazzieB]

10. I 💙 him so much for doing this!

SOMEBODY needs to freaking do SOMETHING, and the pathetic wimps on the GOP side of the aisle are sure as hell not going to do a damned thing if they can possibly avoid it!

You go, Cory! Show those lily-livered losers what a spine looks like!