Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., passed the 14-hour mark Wednesday morning in his filibuster speech on the "grave threats to democracy" he said President Donald Trump poses.
Merkley began his speech at 6:24 p.m. EDT Tuesday and was speaking as of about 10 a.m. Wednesday. The record for a Senate filibuster was set in April this year by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who spoke for 25 hours and 5 minutes.
The senator from Oregon used the speech to warn about what he described as Trump's shift toward authoritarianism and weaponization of the Justice Department. He said it was "an incredible threat to our nation."
"I've come to the Senate floor tonight to ring the alarm bells," Merkley said in his opening remarks. "We're in the most perilous moment, the biggest threat to our republic since the Civil War.
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