The state of the United States: The marathon speech of U.S. Senator Cory Booker

On March 31, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) took to the Senate floor with the intention of speaking as long as he is physically capable of speaking to uplift the stories of Americans who are being harmed by the Trump Administration’s reckless actions, attempts to undermine our institutions, and disregard for the rule of law.

Under the rules of the Senate, Senators have the ability to speak without time limitation.

Booker opened his speech saying:

I rise tonight with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able… These are not normal times in our nation. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate. The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent and we all must do more to stand against them.

His opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, are pasted in full below.

WATCH HERE

His opening remarks as prepared for delivery can be found below:

Mr/Madame President—

I rise tonight with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able.

I rise tonight because our nation is in crisis:

Bedrock commitments are being broken;

Unnecessary hardship is being borne by Americans of all backgrounds;

Our institutions are being recklessly and unconstitutionally attacked and even shattered.

In just 71 days, the President has inflicted harm after harm on Americans’ safety; financial stability; the foundations of our democracy; and any sense of common decency.

These are not normal times in our nation.

And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.

The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent and we all must do more to stand against them.

Generations from now will look back at this moment and have a single question — where were you?

When our country was in crisis and when the American people were asking for our help — did we speak up?

When the 73 million American seniors who rely on Social Security were told that from now on, there will be no one to answer when they call for help; when our seniors were afraid and worried because of the menacing of an American president, did we speak up?

When prices at the grocery store were skyrocketing and the stock market was plunging and Americans were hurting and looking for help –

and at the same time, the President of the United States was launching a trade war on our allies;

firing the regulators who investigate America’s biggest banks and corporations;

dismantling the agency that protects consumers from fraud;

peddling his own meme coin;

and doing a car commercial for the richest man in the world in front of the White House;

When the President tried to take health care away from people with disabilities in order to pay for tax cuts for the billionaires sitting on the dais at his inauguration and in his cabinet meetings at the White House;

When he gutted public education; slashed funding for pediatric cancer research; and fired thousands of veterans who risked their lives for this country;

When he abandoned our allies and our international commitments at a time when floods, fires, hurricanes, and droughts are devastating communities across the country, and outbreaks of dangerous infectious diseases are still a global threat.

When the American press was being censored;

when international students were being disappeared from American communities;

when American universities were being silenced;

when American law firms were being targeted;

when the people who attacked the police officers defending this building and American democracy on January 6th weren’t just pardoned, but were celebrated by the man in the highest office in the land;

When Americans from across the country were all speaking up and saying:

this is not right;

this is un-American;

this is not who we are.

Did we speak up?

I rise tonight because to be silent at this moment of national crisis would be a betrayal, and because at stake in this moment is nothing less than everything that makes us who we are.

At stake right now are the most basic American principles —

That if you work hard your entire life and pay into Social Security, it should be there for you when you retire, and you should not have to question if those paychecks will arrive.

That if you serve your nation, you will be respected and taken care of – and not forced to worry that the federal employees who provide you with care will be fired, or the benefits you rely on will be denied, or that your healthcare needs won’t be met.

That your children will have access to a high quality public education and return home safely from school each day;

That the people you elect to serve in government will represent you and not try to make themselves richer;

That everyone’s rights will be equally protected and everyone will be held equally accountable under the law;

Right now, all of this – things that make our country different — are under attack. Our constituents are asking us to acknowledge that this is not normal, that this is a crisis.

So I am going to stand here until I no longer can.

I am going to speak up.

I want to start by sharing just a few of the letters I have received from my constituents in recent weeks about what is at stake right now.