Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) delivered a marathon 17-hour speech on the Senate floor beginning Tuesday evening, protesting what he called President Donald Trump’s “tightening authoritarian grip on the country” amid the ongoing government shutdown. Merkley began at 6:21 p.m. Tuesday and continued through Wednesday morning, pausing only for brief questions from fellow Democrats.
The speech coincides with a political standoff in which Democrats have repeatedly voted against reopening the government, demanding renewal of health care subsidies, while Republicans refuse to negotiate until Democrats agree to end the shutdown. Merkley accused the GOP of “slashing Americans’ health care” and enabling “a government by and for the powerful.”
The Oregon senator’s remarks touched on attacks against the press and the influence of wealthy interests. “I am standing here to ring the alarm bells,” he said, adding that Trump’s agenda undermines democracy.
Republicans criticized Merkley’s extended floor speech, arguing it forced unpaid Senate staff and Capitol Police to work overnight during the shutdown. “How ridiculous is that?” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on X.
Merkley’s protest marks his longest Senate address to date, surpassing his 2017 speech against Trump’s Supreme Court nomination of Neil Gorsuch.
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