Booker praises Merkley after near-record filibuster over ‘Trump’s authoritarian tactics’

Democrats pulled out all the stops on Wednesday to delay a vote on a short-term spending bill aimed at reopening the government — the 12th time the Senate has considered the measure since the government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., embarked on a nearly 24-hour speech Tuesday at 6:23 p.m., concluding his remarks at 5 p.m. the next day. Merkley, 68, warned viewers about the authoritarianism that he said had become a facet of the Trump administration.

“Be aware and concerned about the possibility of using a state of emergency to expand authoritarian power. This is the position we currently find ourselves in in the United States of America. Authoritarianism with a Congress that rubber-stamps, a court that gives more and more power to the executive, and an executive that has a well-planned strategy,” Merkley said in his remarks.

JOHNSON WARNS US TO “HEAD TOWARDS ONE OF THE LONGEST STOPS” IN HISTORY

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., speaks to reporters following a weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 19, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Republicans have shut down the government to continue their strategy of cutting health care for Americans,” he said.

His speech comes as lawmakers remain stuck on federal funding for 2026. While Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a short-term funding bill to keep the government open through Nov. 21, Democrats in the Senate voted a dozen times to reject the package.

The Senate once again failed to advance the package Wednesday. He failed by 54 votes to 46.

Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., demanded an extension of COVID-era supplemental funding for Obamacare health care subsidies, which are set to expire in 2025.

Screaming match breaks out between HAKEEM JEFFRIES and MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, brief reporters after their face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders on the government funding crisis, at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 29, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

Republicans need the support of seven Democrats to cross the 60-vote threshold and overcome a filibuster. The GOP holds 53 seats in the House.

Merkley, who came close to breaking Sen. Cory Booker’s record of 25 hours and 4 minutes set earlier this year, placed blame for the shutdown on Republicans throughout his speech.

Booker praised Merkley’s blocking efforts online.

“Listening to Senator Jeff Merkley for over 22 hours, it is clear that we must defend our democracy. We must continue to expose and counter Trump’s authoritarian tactics. Thank you Jeff!” Booker said in an article on X.

BOOKER CONCLUDES RECORD 25-HOUR SPEECH AGAINST TRUMP AND MUSK, MARKING LONGEST EVER IN SENATE

On the issue of authoritarianism, which made up the bulk of Merkley’s remarks, Merkley denounced what he saw as the Trump administration’s attempts to push the limits of executive power — such as the deployment of the National Guard in urban areas.

“If you remove a clear standard for whether there is a rebellion or not and just say that a president can deploy the military on a whim to places he doesn’t like against peaceful protesters to distract Americans or suppress dissent, then you open the door to tyranny. To a strong state,” Merkley said.

Members of the National Guard began patrolling Memphis in October as part of a federal task force created by President Donald Trump to combat what the administration considers violent crime in the city. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

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President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis and Portland, Oregon, citing the need to protect law enforcement and government operations in those cities.