WASHINGTON — Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., held the Senate floor for 22 hours and 37 minutes in protest of what he described as President Donald Trump’s “authoritarian” leadership and warning that the republic is facing “the biggest threat” since the Civil War.
“President Trump is shredding our Constitution. Is it OK for masked federal agents to arrest people off the street because of their skin color or their accent? No way, not in a free America,” Merkley said in his opening remarks around 6:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
The Democratic senator went on to rebuke the Trump administration for other actions, including weaponizing the Justice Department to attack his political opponents — including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. — and canceling research grants to universities in an attempt to gain control over what can be taught.
On Wednesday morning, the Oregon Democrat said he wanted the public’s takeaway from his comments to be that “tyranny has already arrived. It is not down the street. It is not around the corner. It will not be encountered on the path tomorrow. It is here at this very moment.”
He argued that “tyranny comes in two forms”: “the attack on freedom” and the disappearance of “the fundamental separation of powers.”
“Suddenly, you have the three elements that create tyranny in place of freedom, or authoritarianism in place of a republic,” he said. “And those are a rubber-stamp Congress, a deferential court and an aggressive authoritarian personality with a good plan.”
Though he did not surpass Sen. Cory Booker’s record for longest speech in Senate history — set at 25 hours, 4 minutes — Merkley now holds the record for longest floor speech for a senator from Oregon. Previously, that record was held by Sen. Wayne Morse, I-Ore., who spoke for 22 hours and 26 minutes, according to the Senate Press Gallery.
Merkley’s speech comes days after people turned out across the country Saturday for protests against Trump and his administration at No Kings rallies. Since the beginning of the president’s second term, Democrats have faced blowback about not doing enough to counter Trump. In interviews with NBC News, Democratic demonstrators at the No Kings rally in Washington, D.C., were still conveying that frustration with leaders in their party.
Several members of the Democratic caucus have cheered Merkley on through social media.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., thanked Merkley for “standing up for the American people.” Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., wrote on X that the speech is “a reminder that our democracy is under attack. Democracy isn’t just your voice, your vote. It’s your right to stand up and not be silenced.” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said on X that Merkley was sounding the alarm “on Trump’s lawless regime” and said, “There can be no business as usual.”
Meanwhile, the speech prompted criticism from Senate Republicans such as Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., who said in a post on X that Merkley is forcing Senate staff and Capitol Police officers to work overnight while not getting paid because of the government shutdown.
“The Democrats are going to make Capitol Police and Capitol support staff — who they refuse to pay — work all night so they can give speeches patting themselves on the back for shutting down the government and hurting the American people. How ridiculous is that?” he wrote.
Reached for comment, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said: “Democrats will do anything except vote to open the government. A useless overnight floor speech that no one watched will do nothing to help the millions of Americans who are missing paychecks, losing out on important benefits, or being otherwise harmed by the [Democrats’] decision to shut down the government over free health care for illegal aliens.”
The government has been shut down for 22 days with Democrats and Republicans still at an impasse over their demands for funding. Merkley’s speech won’t delay or postpone any imminent actions on government funding as the Senate is currently working through nominations.
