Merkley holds overnight speech against ‘Trump’s grave threats to democracy’

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., launched into a marathon overnight speech against President Donald Trump.

“I am speaking on the Senate floor to protest Trump’s serious threats to democracy. We cannot pretend this is normal,” Merkley wrote Tuesday night on X.

Around 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, almost 12 hours after the message, the senator was still continuing his speech.

Merkley later added that he was protesting that the president was “taking us further into authoritarianism.”

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Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., launched into a marathon speech overnight to protest President Donald Trump. (Screenshot)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., congratulated Merkley, thanking him “for standing up for the American people.” Several other Democrats joined in the senator’s applause, including Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.

“Trump’s plan is to replace government by and for the people with government by and for the powerful,” Merkley noted during his speech.

A protester reacts as law enforcement deploys smoke grenades to disperse people gathered outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in South Portland, Oregon, October 5, 2025. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

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During his speech, Merkley leveled a wide range of accusations against Trump and his administration, as well as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He also claimed the government was trying to “fake a riot” outside the ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, in order to expand its own power.

At one point, Merkley spoke specifically about a protester who was hit with pepper spray during an anti-ICE demonstration. The senator said the woman was asked to move out of the way of ICE agents and complied, but was still sprayed with riot spray.

Mekley has delivered similar marathon speeches before. In 2017, he spoke for 15 hours and 28 minutes against the nomination of current Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. He addressed this topic in his evening speech, saying Gorsuch’s nomination represented “the first time a vacancy on the Supreme Court of the United States has been stolen from one president and given to another.”

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In 2016, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, then-President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, who would later become attorney general under President Joe Biden. However, Senate Republicans refused to hold hearings for Garland, leading to her nomination expiration in January 2017.

“The Republican Party trampled on a fundamental Democratic norm, stealing a Supreme Court seat, and got away with it,” Merkley said around 7 a.m. Wednesday.

This is a developing story. Please check again for updates.

Fox News Digital has contacted the White House for comment.