25 Hours: All Gas, No Brakes in the Fight for Democracy
25 hours and five minutes.
That’s how long Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) stood on the Senate floor — invoking the chamber’s rarely-used rule of unlimited debate to disrupt “the normal business of the United States Senate.”
He didn’t stop to eat, drink water or take bathroom breaks. Pushing himself to break the previous record for the longest speech in Senate history to protest Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s assault on freedom and the rule of law.
The previous record-holder was Strom Thurmond, a segregationist who in 1957 filibustered to block the first federal civil rights bill since the era after slavery — a bill meant to protect Black Americans’ right to vote.
Booker’s protest didn’t just hold the Senate floor — it held the attention of the internet, with millions of Americans viewing parts of the speech across social media platforms in real time.
For the millions of Americans watching and searching for a sign that our democracy still has a pulse, this wasn’t just a speech — it was a spark.
Booker’s message was simple: we’re not powerless. All of us can do something — whether it’s holding the Senate floor, calling our representatives or showing up at a town hall.
The threat we face
But, let’s not mince words. The threat we face is vast, coordinated and dangerous.
Trump doesn’t run a normal administration — those follow the law. He runs a regime that’s wreaking havoc on our economy, democracy and national security and meant to enrich and protect himself and his friends.
There’s the national security group chat leak. Trump’s tariffs that economists agree will hit increased costs on the average family by nearly $4,000 per year.
Trump’s regime is carrying out mass deportations to a prison in El Salvador — claiming they’re targeting criminals. But many of those deported were following the legal immigration process in good faith. Some weren’t even supposed to be on the list, but the government refused to bring them back. College students are being arrested for their political views. It’s all happening with no due process.
Veterans are feeling it: jobs slashed and reductions in Department of Veterans Affairs staff that could seriously hamper care.
Then there’s Trump’s executive order on elections — less policy, more angry press release. A new and cruel page from MAGA’s Jim Crow playbook, designed to suppress millions of Americans’ votes.
It’s blatantly illegal and has language that comes straight from the list of goals of his most conspiracy-minded, election-denying allies. Besides creating impossible new rules for voters and election administrators alike, it of course gives Elon Musk’s DOGE new power to sift through state voter rolls and cause chaos.
This is the same DOGE that’s been caught firing critical nuclear specialists before rushing to hire them back, botching basic government functions and falsely accusing dead people of cashing Social Security checks. Musk, who thinks our Constitution is like a corporate policy memo he can rewrite after lunch, shouldn’t be anywhere near our voter data — and certainly not making decisions about who gets to vote.
This weekend you can join a “Hands Off” rally — or one of the 1,100+ events being organized across the country to show Trump and Musk that this country doesn’t belong to them.
And then there’s the MAGA Republicans in Congress. They’re pushing tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy — paid for by slashing Medicaid and SNAP, which means major cuts to health care and food support for millions of people they pretend to serve.
They’re also pushing a bill they call the SAVE Act — which should really be called the SAVE MAGA Politicians Act. It’s a mass voter suppression bill that mirrors Trump’s angry press release executive order that could prevent up to 21 million eligible Americans from registering to vote. It’s designed to shield MAGA politicians from accountability in the 2026 midterm elections, when they’ll be scrambling to hold onto power after Trump’s destructive and wildly unpopular Project 2025 agenda sets in.
The resistance is real
But the American people aren’t taking this lying down. From the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt, people are showing up to defend freedom.
This week in Wisconsin, voters turned out to elect a pro-democracy judge to the state Supreme Court — despite Musk flooding the state with millions to support the MAGA candidate, even giving select voters $1 million. Wisconsin proves that grassroots organizing can still beat billionaire interference.
Last month in Louisiana, voters rejected all four constitutional amendments MAGA devotee Gov. Jeff Landry hoped to quietly pass in a low-turnout special election. But a hot mic caught Landry telling U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson that turnout was higher than expected — and he sounded worried. Sure enough, voters showed up and shut it all down.
In Virginia and Pennsylvania, Democrats won special elections in state legislatures, protecting their majorities and showing that momentum is building even in tough terrain. And even though Democrats didn’t win in Florida’s special elections, they put up one hell of a fight.
Americans across the political aisle are appearing at congressional town halls all over the nation — furious, focused and not fooled. And when Republicans hide and refuse to hear their constituents, Democratic lawmakers are holding their own “empty chair” town halls to show the contrast.
Firebrands like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are leading massive rallies with tens of thousands turning out — 34,000 in Denver — reminding us that democracy is not a spectator sport. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) recently held a powerful rally in Atlanta to push back on the Trump agenda and begin mobilizing for his re-election.
The momentum is building. Collective action is materializing. This is democracy with its gloves off.
What’s at stake
People see what the Trump regime is doing. They’re realizing that if we lose this battle — if Trump and Musk succeed in rewriting the rules, silencing our votes and seizing power — it means less money in our pockets, less freedom and an uncertain future.
Trump is playing war games with our economy, our freedom and our lives — counting on us being too exhausted or divided to resist.
Let’s prove him wrong.
Now’s the time to show up
Sen. Booker said it best: “all of us have to think of creative things we can do to be little points of ignition for this movement.”
We can’t all filibuster for 25 hours. But we can all do something.
You can volunteer in local elections and fight voter suppression. You can support groups that organize crucial local and state elections or file legal challenges to Trump’s unconstitutional orders.
You can demand your member of Congress hold a town hall. Call them. Drop by their office. Urge them to vote against the SAVE Act — remind them they work for you. Post about it. Share verified info with your neighbors. Every single action we take has an impact.
And this weekend you can join a “Hands Off” rally — or one of the 1,100+ events being organized across the country to show Trump and Musk that this country doesn’t belong to them.
You can sign up to be a poll worker in your local elections that are happening this summer and fall in many states. Elections are run locally in our country and these nonpartisan, pro-democracy roles are quiet, critical leadership positions to support your neighbors in casting their ballots.
Trump can sign all the executive order-nasty grams he wants — but he can’t shut us down if we refuse to comply. Momentum is on our side. The people are on our side. We’re louder, smarter and more relentless than they are.
Because we’re fighting for a future where democracy wins over autocracy. Like the old saying says: it’s a republic, if we can keep it.
From here on out, it’s all gas, no brakes.
Lauren Groh-Wargo is Chief Executive Officer of Fair Fight and a political strategist who managed Stacey Abrams’ campaigns for Georgia governor.
Max Flugrath is the Communications Director at Fair Fight and a political strategist who has worked on statewide campaigns in Georgia and Florida, including a successful statewide race.