Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, made headlines this week with a marathon speech on the Senate floor that captured both the attention and frustration of a nation deep in political turmoil. Beginning shortly after 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, Merkley launched into what would become a nearly 23-hour protest against President Donald Trump’s administration, a display that ranked as the second-longest speech in Senate history, according to Fox News Digital and Reason magazine.
Merkley’s speech, which continued well into the next evening, was more than just a test of endurance—it was a full-throated warning against what he described as the president’s “tightening authoritarian grip on the country.” He accused the Trump administration of undermining checks and balances, attacking both free speech and the press, politicizing the Justice Department, and using the military to suppress dissent. “I came to the Senate floor tonight to ring the alarm bells,” Merkley declared as he began, adding later, “We’re in the most perilous moment, the biggest threat to our republic since the Civil War. President Trump is shredding our Constitution.”
His protest wasn’t just rhetorical. Merkley’s extended address, which began not long after 6 p.m. Tuesday and continued past midday Wednesday, forced Senate leaders to delay a scheduled 1 p.m. vote on a House-passed continuing resolution (CR) that would have ended the partial government shutdown. This wasn’t the first time the Senate had faced such a vote—the measure had already been blocked 11 times, and the 12th attempt was expected to meet the same fate. Democrats, including Merkley, insisted on a bipartisan deal to extend expiring health insurance subsidies as a condition for ending the shutdown, while the GOP majority needed at least seven Democrats (eight, with Senator Rand Paul opposing) to reach the 60-vote threshold required to advance most legislation.
Throughout the night and into the next day, Merkley was far from alone. Several Democratic colleagues, including Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey, Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, joined him on the floor. They offered both moral and practical support—asking questions and engaging in dialogue, which allowed Merkley brief moments to rest his voice and gather his thoughts. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York publicly praised Merkley, thanking him “for standing up for the American people.”
The timing of Merkley’s speech was no accident. It came just days after “No Kings” protests swept cities across the country and on the heels of an appeals court decision that allowed President Trump to deploy the National Guard to Portland, Oregon. The deployment, which Merkley sharply criticized, was emblematic of broader concerns about executive overreach. “I’m holding the Senate floor to protest Trump’s grave threats to democracy. We cannot pretend this is normal,” Merkley posted on X (formerly Twitter) as his speech got underway. He later added that he was protesting against the president “dragging us further into authoritarianism.”
Merkley’s accusations were sweeping. He charged the administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with orchestrating a “fake riot” outside an ICE facility in Portland to justify expanding federal power. He recounted the story of a protester who, after complying with ICE agents’ orders, was nonetheless pepper-sprayed—a vivid anecdote meant to underscore what he saw as the administration’s disregard for civil liberties.
Not everyone was impressed by Merkley’s all-nighter. The White House, through Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson, dismissed the senator’s claims and accused Democrats of holding the government hostage over “free health care for illegal aliens.” Jackson told Fox News Digital, “Democrats will do anything except vote to open the government. A useless overnight floor speech that no one watched will do nothing to help the millions of Americans who are missing paychecks, losing out on important benefits, or being otherwise harmed by the Democrat’s decision to shut down the government over free health care for illegal aliens.”
As the government shutdown entered its 22nd day on October 22, 2025, the sense of urgency in the Senate chamber was palpable. The record for the longest U.S. government shutdown—35 days—had been set during Trump’s first term, and many feared history might repeat itself. Meanwhile, Republicans were preparing to hold a vote on legislation from Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin to pay troops and certain federal employees required to work during the shutdown. Democrats, for their part, planned to introduce an alternative measure to extend pay to furloughed federal workers, with Senator Gary Peters of Michigan indicating that details would be released soon.
Merkley’s marathon wasn’t his first. In 2017, he spoke for 15 hours and 28 minutes in opposition to the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court—a nomination he described as “the first time a U.S. Supreme Court vacancy has been stolen from one president and delivered to the next.” He revisited this episode during his latest speech, saying, “The GOP had trampled on a basic Democratic norm, in effect, stealing a Supreme Court seat and gotten away with it.”
But while Merkley’s focus was squarely on Trump, some commentators noted that concerns about executive overreach are hardly unique to the current administration. Reason magazine pointed out that both Democratic and Republican presidents have taken advantage of broad executive authority, with Congress often acquiescing. The Biden administration, for instance, used pandemic-era emergency orders to implement vaccine mandates and intervene in the economy—measures Merkley himself supported. He also joined colleagues in urging social media platforms to curb “misinformation” during the 2024 election, aligning with the Biden administration’s broader push to regulate online speech.
Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, reflecting on the events, said Democrats had been “galvanized by the concerns that Americans have about what Trump is doing to the fundamental institutions of our democracy” following the recent “No Kings” rallies. The sense of crisis was echoed by many on the Senate floor, but the path forward remained uncertain. With a procedural vote on Johnson’s bill scheduled for Thursday, October 23, and Democrats still crafting their own proposal, the deadlock showed no signs of breaking.
As Merkley finally yielded the floor, he left behind a Senate chamber still deeply divided, a government still partially shuttered, and a public still waiting for resolution. His marathon speech may not have changed the immediate outcome, but it undeniably put a spotlight on the broader debate over democracy, executive power, and the future of American governance.
