Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) concluded his marathon speech Wednesday afternoon, having held the floor for 22 hours and 39 minutes to rail against “grave threats” presented by President Trump.
Merkley, a three-term senator, began speaking shortly before 6:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday and ended at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, the 22nd day of the government shutdown.
Headlining his attacks were Trump’s move to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Ore., the ending of numerous research grants to universities and the recent indictments of the president’s high-profile political opponents.
In all, he argued that represent a serious threat to U.S. democracy.
Merkley, 69, was joined on the floor at times by a number of his Democratic colleagues, with some of them asking him long-winded questions to lessen the burden.
He also was flanked by a series of placards. One of them featured three alarm bell emojis and declared that “Authoritarianism Is Here Now!”
“I’ve come to the Senate floor tonight to ring the alarm bells. We’re in the most perilous moment, the biggest threat to our republic since the Civil War. President Trump is shredding our Constitution,” Merkley said to open his speech.
The comments come on the heels of Monday’s ruling by an appeals court that gave Trump the green light to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, overturning a previous ruling by a federal judge.
The Oregon lawmaker slammed the tactics federal law enforcement officers used against protesters outside an immigration detention facility in the city.
“President Trump wants us to believe that Portland, Oregon, 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 speech came nearly seven months after Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) delivered the longest floor address in Senate history, holding the floor for 25 hours and five minutes.
It also comes amid the bitter shutdown impasse, with both sides showing little appetite to inch in the other’s direction. Democrats have been urging action on the enhanced health care tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. Absent an extension, premium prices are set to increase precipitously.
Republicans have insisted that no talks can happen on that front until Democrats agree to reopen the government.
The Senate is set to vote for a 12th time on the House-passed continuing resolution. That vote is expected to also fail, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declaring his caucus is “resolute” in voting against the stopgap bill and holding out for an extension.
