Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey broke the record Tuesday for the longest speech on the Senate floor in U.S. history.

His remarks, which focused on what he called a governmental “crisis” caused by President Trump’s second-term agenda, began Monday evening at 7 p.m. ET; he went hold the floor for more than 25 consecutive hours, eclipsing Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 24-hour, 18-minute filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

“This is not right or left, it is right or wrong,” Booker said more than 20 hours into his speech regarding Trump’s sweeping cuts to the federal workforce. “This is not a partisan moment, it is a moral moment. Where do you stand?”

Shortly before Booker announced his plan to deliver what is now the longest speech delivered in the Senate in U.S. history, he posted a video on social media explaining his motivation.

“I’m about to go to the Senate floor, where I intend to be recognized, and when I am, I am not gonna stop speaking. I’m going to not stop standing. I’m going to go for as long as I am physically able to go,” Booker said. “I’ve been hearing from people all over my state and indeed all over the nation calling upon folks in Congress to do more, to do things that recognize the urgency, the crisis of the moment. And so we all have a responsibility, I believe, to do something different, to cause, as John Lewis said, ‘good trouble,’ and that includes me.”

In his speech, the 55-year-old senator singled out actions by the Trump administration to gut federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration, and he read and cited letters he’s received from his constituents.

“I read letters from Social Security workers who now work in inadequate spaces with inadequate staff, unable to do their job that they love,” Booker said. “They’re not leeches. They’re not people who should be demeaned or degraded by the most powerful people in our land.”

Booker said he was delivering his address to draw attention to what the administration was doing.

“The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more to stand against them,” he added.

Not technically a filibuster

While Booker’s speech made history, at least in its first hours it is technically not a filibuster, which is a procedural tool that allows senators to delay or prevent the vote on a given bill.

“The Senate tradition of unlimited debate has allowed for the use of the filibuster, a loosely defined term for action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question,” the Senate states on its website.

The longer Booker speaks, however, the more that line will be blurred because the Senate was scheduled to take up official business Tuesday and the speech could delay that.

Longest Senate speeches

After passing the 22-hour mark of what would clock in as the longest Senate speech, Booker quipped that he didn’t “have much gas left in the tank.” But he did have enough to make history by holding the floor of the Senate for 25 hours and five minutes.

The second longest speech in Senate history was given by Thurmond of South Carolina, who filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours and 18 minutes.

The third-longest was Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2013 filibuster against the Affordable Care Act, which lasted for 21 hours and 19 minutes.

Both the Civil Rights Act and the Affordable Care Act were eventually passed.

Can a senator eat or take a restroom break during such a long speech?

Booker was joined throughout the speech by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, whose presence, along with appearances by other Democratic senators, allowed Booker to take short breaks from the microphone. But as USA Today reported, Booker’s marathon session on the Senate floor did not allow for any food or bathroom breaks.

“Senator Booker, it has been a wonder to be with you on the floor these last 24 hours,” Murphy said Tuesday night as Booker approached the record for the longest Senate speech, adding, “I’ve been with you for the last 24 hours, but I’ve sat for most of it. You’ve done the hard work.”

Murphy then ended his remarks by asking Booker what he hoped to accomplish with his speech.

Booker responded by recounting his exchanges with civil rights icon John Lewis.

“John Lewis wouldn’t treat this moment as normal,” he said, then returned to his criticism of Trump and his aide Elon Musk.

“Yes, there is a man in the White House who is the most powerful man in the land, and his partner is the richest man in the world, but as long as this is a democracy, we can still protect the power of the people [which] is greater than the people in power,” Booker said.