What is a filibuster and why is Senator Jeff Merkley giving a marathon speech in the senate?

Sen. Jeff Merkley is staging an overnight, speak-until-hoarse protest to spotlight what he calls President Donald Trump’s “authoritarian” agenda during the ongoing government shutdown. The Democrat from Oregon began talking shortly after 6:20 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 21, and, at the time of writing, was hitting on 20 hours, railing against deportation drives, program rollbacks and what he describes as power-consolidating tactics by the White House. His aim: force national attention and slow the chamber’s work while Republicans control both houses.

Democrats have used these marathon addresses throughout 2025. In April, Sen. Cory Booker shattered the modern record with a 25-hour talk-a-thon, and in July, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for more than eight hours to delay a GOP tax-and-spending bill. Merkley’s move fits that pattern of procedural resistance from the minority.

What is the filibuster?

The filibuster stems from a 19th century Senate rule which essentially allowed members to prevent a bill being passed by simply continuing to talk until the chamber’s time had elapsed. Debate is limited in the Senate so the filibuster allows members to derail the passage of bills, unless there is a 60-vote supermajority willing to stop them doing so.

Before Booker, the record for the longest filibuster speech was Democratic Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 1957 epic, when he spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes to prevent passage of a major civil rights bill. More recently Republican Sen. Ted Cruz spoke for more than 21 hours in 2013 in opposition to President Obama’s Affordable Care Act proposals, more commonly known as Obamacare.

However under recent rules, senators do not even need to talk for the entire period of time to enact a filibuster. Simply registering their intention to do so is enough to block the bill and the Senate must move on.

Who is Senator Jeff Merkley?

Merkley, 68, is Oregon’s junior senator, first elected in 2008 after serving as speaker of the Oregon House. In the Senate he’s carved out a progressive profile, co-authoring the Volcker Rule in Dodd-Frank, pressing for immigration oversight, and previously mounting a 15-plus-hour protest during the Gorsuch confirmation.

He’s won reelection twice (2014, 2020) and is known for rule-reform crusades like reviving the “talking filibuster.”

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