This is what “good trouble” looks like in 2025: Cory Booker’s 25-hour stand against injustice

Sen. Cory Booker made history this week. Beginning on Monday (March 31) and wrapping up Tuesday (April 1), the New Jersey Democrat delivered a fiery, 25-hour-and-5-minute Senate speech that smashed the chamber’s previous record. The last person to hold it? Strom Thurmond, who spoke for over 24 hours to try to block the Civil Rights Act of 1957. “To be candid, Strom Thurmond’s record always kind of just really irked me,” Booker expressed on MSNBC following the achievement, “that the longest speech on our great Senate floor was someone who was trying to stop people like me from being in the Senate.”

Cory Booker broke the Senate record with no water, no food, no breaks and no backing down

Booker came in ready. He fasted starting Friday (March 28), cut off water on Sunday (March 30) and – from the moment he began his marathon performance – stayed planted at his desk the whole time. “I really spent time dehydrating myself beforehand, so I did not have to go to the bathroom,” he explained to reporters. “I definitely started cramping up from lack of water.” His chair was removed early in the night, so he wouldn’t even be tempted to sit.

He didn’t do it alone, though — his Democratic colleagues helped out by asking questions to give him short breaks. Shoutout to Sen. Chris Murphy, who stayed with him the whole night to repay Booker for doing the same back in 2016 during Murphy’s gun control speech. When the cramps kicked in, Booker rocked back and forth in his sneakers and leaned on the desk to keep going.

But Booker wasn’t just filling time. He used every moment to slam what he called the dangerous direction of Donald Trump’s second term. “I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis,” he said. “These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.” He read letters from people scared about losing benefits, raised alarms about the gutting of Social Security and healthcare, and blasted the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency for hollowing out the federal government.

He invoked the spirit of civil rights icon John Lewis, saying, “He said for us to go out and cause some good trouble, necessary trouble to redeem the soul of our nation.” He even saluted the late John McCain, stating, “I know you wouldn’t sanction this... I’ve seen how angry you can get.”

Following Cory Booker’s speech, what comes next?

The speech didn’t technically block legislation (it wasn’t a filibuster), but it shut down Senate business for the day and lit a fire under the Democratic base. Online, Booker’s livestream went crazy: According to NBC News, it generated over 350 million likes on TikTok, more than 28,000 voicemails left at his office and support from names like Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi. “I just think a lot of us have to do a lot more — including myself,” Booker admitted.