Washington [US], April 2: Democratic Senator Cory Booker broke the record for the longest speech by a member of Congress in history, focusing on criticizing President Donald Trump.
ABC News reported that Democratic Senator Cory Booker has just broken the record for the longest speech by a congressman in the US Congress, speaking for more than 25 hours to protest the national "crisis" that he accused President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk of causing.
The 56-year-old congressman began speaking on the evening of March 31 (local time) and continued for 25 hours and 4 minutes, breaking the previous record of former Senator Strom Thurmond, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes to protest the Civil Rights Act.
Mr. Booker spoke on his feet and did not stop to use the bathroom. Just before Mr. Booker broke Mr. Thurmond's record, the viewing area above the conference room began to fill with people who had gathered to witness this historic event.
At around 7:20 p.m. on April 1, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the US Senate, briefly interrupted to announce that Mr. Booker had just broken the record. Mr. Booker ended his speech at 8:05 p.m. on April 1 (local time, 7:05 a.m. on April 2 in Vietnam) amid loud applause.
Earlier, at the beginning of his speech, he said he spoke "with the purpose of interrupting the normal operation" of the Senate, saying that the country was in "crisis" due to the actions of the White House since Mr. Trump began his second term.
"In just 71 days, the President of the United States has done so much damage to our safety, our financial stability, the core foundations of our democracy, and our aspirations," he said, adding that these are not normal times in America.
Over the next 24 hours, the congressman's remarks focused on a variety of issues, including the war in Ukraine, the activities of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) abroad, concerns about cuts to the Medicaid health care program and cuts to the Social Security office, among others.
During his 25-hour speech, Booker did not sit down, eat, or use the bathroom. He did drink water, with two glasses on the table in front of him that were refilled periodically.
Occasionally, he would lean against the podium and wipe his face with a handkerchief. But until he broke the record, the black-suited senator had never loosened his tie.
There were times when he listened to questions from other lawmakers, which was also when he took the opportunity to stop speaking. However, he remained standing on the podium the entire time to maintain time and break the record.
President Trump did not immediately respond to Booker's remarks.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
