Senator Jeff Merkley questions Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education, as she testifies in front of the Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2025.

WASHINGTON – Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley is the latest Democrat to take a protracted stand against President Donald Trump, holding a marathon speech on the Senate floor that has stretched for over 20 hours amid an ongoing federal government shutdown.

Merkley, who took the floor at 6:21 p.m. on Oct. 21, knocked the Trump administration’s policies and actions, which he argued are dragging the country into authoritarianism.

“I don't believe there's a single senator here in the United States Senate who wants to see freedom crushed and authoritarian rule established here in the United States of America ... Our founders did not want the president to be a king,” he said.

His speech comes as Republicans and Democrats have been unable to strike a funding deal to reopen the government. Democrats have made healthcare the focus of their demands, urging Republicans to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of December.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, went viral earlier this year when he gave the longest-ever speech on the Senate floor, which lasted 25 hours and five minutes. Booker beat the record set by the late South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond, a Democrat-turned-Republican, who gave a speech on the Senate floor lasting 24 hours and 18 minutes for his filibuster against the 1957 Civil Rights Act.

If Merkley continues his talk-a-thon past 7:26 p.m. on Oct. 22, he could officially beat Booker’s record.

Who is Jeff Merkley?

Merkley, 68, was first elected to the Senate in 2008 and has held onto his seat ever since. He is up for reelection in 2026.

Before serving in Congress, Merkley served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009 and was speaker of the House from 2007 to 2009. He previously worked as a national security analyst for the Pentagon and the Congressional Budget Office, executive director of the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity’s Portland chapter and president of the World Affairs Council of Oregon.

He’s a strong proponent of LGBTQ+ rights and expanding healthcare access. In April, he teamed up with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, Booker and Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Takano, D-California, to reintroduce the Equality Act, a bill aimed at prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations and other settings.

He fiercely championed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a landmark piece of legislation under the Obama administration.

Merkley was the first senator to endorse progressive firebrand Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid, writing in a New York Times op-ed at the time that, “As we look toward the next administration, there is far more work to do. We need urgency. We need big ideas. We need to rethink the status quo.”

Contributing: Zach Schermele, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley? Why is he giving a marathon Senate speech? What to know.

Reporting by Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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