Oct. 22 (UPI) — Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., passed the 14-hour mark Wednesday morning in his filibuster speech on the “grave threats to democracy” he said President Donald Trump poses.
Merkley began his speech at 6:24 p.m. EDT Tuesday and was speaking as of about 10 a.m. Wednesday. The record for a Senate filibuster was set in April this year by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who spoke for 25 hours and 5 minutes.
The senator from Oregon used the speech to warn about what he described as Trump’s shift toward authoritarianism and weaponization of the Justice Department. He said it was “an incredible threat to our nation.”
“I’ve come to the Senate floor tonight to ring the alarm bells,” Merkley said in his opening remarks. “We’re in the most perilous moment, the biggest threat to our republic since the Civil War.
“President Trump is shredding our Constitution.”
Merkley took issue with the level to which Trump has used executive actions and powers, the mass deportations carried out by his administration, the deadly strikes used against suspected drug cartels in South and Central American waters, federal troop deployments to U.S. cities, and his work to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to Newsweek.
“President Trump wants us to believe that Portland, Ore., in my home state, is full of chaos and riots,” Merkley said. “Because if he can say to the American people that there are riots, he can say there’s a rebellion. And if there’s a rebellion, he can use that to strengthen his authoritarian grip on our nation.”
Merkley’s filibuster comes days after thousands of “No Kings” protests were held across the country. The anti-Trump demonstrations addressed many of the same issues as Merkley’s speech.
The Senate, which has yet to pass a stopgap funding bill to reopen the government after a 22-day shutdown, will be unable to carry out any business on the Senate floor until Merkley concludes his speech.
