A Democratic US lawmaker shattered a record for the longest speech in Senate history, staying on his feet for more than 25 hours to deliver a fiery protest against President Donald Trump’s “unconstitutional” actions.Senator Cory Booker’s display of endurance — to hold the floor he had to remain standing and could not even go to the bathroom — recalled the famous scene in Frank Capra’s 1939 film classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”The longest Senate speech on record before Tuesday was delivered by South Carolina’s Strom Thurmond, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.Booker, only the fourth Black senator to be popularly elected to the body, blew past that deadline Tuesday, his voice still strong but emotional as he topped out at 25 hours and five minutes.”This is a moral moment. It’s not left or right. It’s right or wrong,” he said as he wrapped up before finally pronouncing “Madam President, I yield the floor.”The 55-year-old New Jersey native had found a moment for some humor as he passed the record, joking: “I want to go a little bit past this and then I’m going to deal with some of the biological urgencies I’m feeling.”- ‘Foundations of democracy’ -Although Booker’s talk-a-thon was not actually blocking the majority Republican Party from holding votes in the Senate, as would be the case in a true filibuster, his defiance quickly became a rallying point for beleaguered Democrats.Booker, a former presidential candidate, seized command in the chamber at 7:00 pm (2300 GMT) Monday and finished at 8:05 pm Tuesday.He lashed out at Trump’s radical cost-cutting policies that have seen his top advisor Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, slash entire government programs without consent from Congress.The senator said Trump’s aggressive seizing of ever-more executive power had put US democracy at risk.”Unnecessary hardships are being borne by Americans of all backgrounds. And institutions which are special in America, which are precious and which are unique in our country, are being recklessly — and I would say even unconstitutionally — affected, attacked, even shattered,” Booker said.”In just 71 days the president of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans’ safety, financial stability, the core foundations of our democracy,” he said.But he had words of encouragement for Trump opponents, saying as he concluded that “the power of the people is greater than the people in power.”- Cramps and sore throat -Booker later went into detail about how he withstood the physical demands of the speech.”My strategy was to stop eating. I think I stopped eating Friday and then to stop drinking the night before I started on Monday,” he told reporters in the Capitol.The approach “had its benefits and had its really downsides… different muscle groups start to really cramp up” with dehydration, he added.In a statement sent by his office, Booker added that he was “tired and a little hoarse.”Democratic lawmakers, in the minority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, have struggled over how to blunt Trump’s efforts to downsize government, ramp up deportations and shred much of the country’s political norms.”I just want to thank you for holding vigil for this country all night,” Senator Raphael Warnock told Booker on the floor.Booker dedicated much of his speech to criticizing Trump’s policies, but to pass the time he also recited poetry, discussed sports and entertained questions from colleagues.”If you love your neighbor, if you love this country, show your love. Stop them from doing what they’re trying to (do),” he said.

Donald Trump’s aggressive new US presidency secured fresh backing from Republican stronghold Florida Tuesday with two Congressional victories in a first electoral test, while anticipation remained high for a vote to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.Trump went all out to boost his party’s chances in the contests and sent his controversial, hugely powerful advisor Elon Musk — the world’s richest man — to sway the vote in Wisconsin.Now, after two months in which the Trump-Musk tandem has appeared nearly unstoppable, Americans were giving a verdict of sorts.”Both Florida House seats have been won, big, by the Republican candidate,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network after US media called both races for his side.Trump had earlier pushed for the conservative judge running for the spot on Wisconsin’s top court, saying on social media that Brad Schimel was a “Patriot” while his liberal opponent Susan Crawford is a “Radical Left Liberal.”Echoing his usual extreme rhetoric, Trump claimed Crawford has a “History of letting child molesters and rapists off” and that a win by her would be a “DISASTER.”- ‘Fate of civilization’ -Musk, who has spearheaded Trump’s radical attempts to gut much of the US government in a right-wing cost-cutting drive, went himself to Wisconsin to drum up support for Schimel.”It’s like one of those strange situations where a seemingly small election would determine the fate of Western civilization here,” Musk said in a discussion on his social media platform X on Tuesday.The highlight of his weekend visit to the upper Midwestern state reprised a tactic seen during his efforts to help Trump defeat Democrat Kamala Harris in November — handing out money to anyone who signed a petition against so-called “activist judges.”Senator Bernie Sanders, a major force on the left of the Democratic Party, told supporters on X they had “the power to REJECT Musk and the oligarchy buying our elections.”Beyond testing the public mood, the Wisconsin result will decide whether the state’s Supreme Court — which rules on things like voting district boundaries — tilts majority left or right.In Florida, two seats to the US House of Representatives were up for grabs to fill vacancies in Republican strongholds, left by Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and failed nominee for attorney general, Matt Gaetz.On Tuesday evening, media called the race for Florida’s sixth district in favor of Republican Randy Fine, with Trump tweeting: “Congratulations Randy, a great WIN against a massive CASH AVALANCHE.”Shortly after, media outlets also called the special election in Florida’s first district for Trump-backed Republican Jimmy Patronis.Trump took credit for his party’s victory in both deep red districts, posting on social media that “the Trump endorsement, as always, proved far greater than the Democrats forces of evil.”Democrats have been adrift since losing the presidency to Trump and both chambers of Congress in November, and had hoped that a decent showing in Florida and a win in Wisconsin could be the spark.In Florida, they were defeated by double-digit perecentage margins in both special elections.- Big stakes, bigger money -Illustrating the stakes of the contest in Wisconsin, the race has set a spending record — much of that in advertising and attempts, particularly by Musk, to drive turnout.Musk, who spent roughly $277 million on Trump’s 2024 election campaign, presented checks of $1 million to two voters and $100 each to other voters who signed his petition.According to the Brennan Center for Justice, more than $53.3 million has been spent by Schimel and his backers, including $12.2 million from Musk’s America PAC.Crawford’s campaign and those backing her have spent an estimated $45.1 million.The spending has made the Wisconsin race the most expensive in US judicial history, the center said.Billionaire Musk’s Green Bay rally on the weekend had an enthusiastic crowd, but the South African-born oligarch’s role in Wisconsin elections has provoked as much resistance as support.At a pro-Crawford rally, 65-year-old retired electrical engineer Rob Patterson held up a sign showing Musk giving a straight-armed salute.”Our Supreme Court is not for sale,” the sign read.

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who has faced calls to resign over his role in the recent Yemen chat group scandal, saw renewed scrutiny Tuesday after the Washington Post reported on his usage of Gmail for official work.The newspaper also said that one of Waltz’s senior aides used Gmail to discuss military positions and weapons systems, reigniting questions over the handling of sensitive communications inside President Donald Trump’s administration.Waltz had his schedule and other work documents sent to his account on the Google email service, the Washington Post reported.The White House later confirmed that Waltz had “received emails and calendar invites from legacy contacts on his personal email,” but that he had “cc’d government accounts” since the start of the Trump administration to satisfy record retention laws.Waltz “has never sent classified material over his personal email account or any unsecured platform,” said National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes, who blasted the story as “the latest attempt to distract the American people from President Trump’s successful national security agenda.”Hughes said he could not respond to the Washington Post report about Waltz’s aide, claiming the newspaper had not shared the sensitive information with the White House.”Any correspondence containing classified material must only be sent through secure channels and all NSC staff are informed of this,” he said.Waltz last month provoked an embarrassing saga for the Trump administration after he inadvertently added The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief to a group chat on Signal, a commercially available messaging app, in which air strikes against Yemen’s Huthi rebels were discussed.Officials including Waltz and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used the chat to talk about details of the air strike timings and intelligence, unaware that the highly sensitive information was being simultaneously read by a member of the media.Waltz told Fox News host Laura Ingraham last week that he took “full responsibility” for the breach, saying: “I built the group; my job is to make sure everything’s coordinated.”Trump has rejected calls to sack Waltz or Hegseth and branded the scandal a “witch hunt.”White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt meanwhile told journalists on Tuesday that “the case is closed, and the president continues to have confidence in his national security advisor.”But the Gmail revelations could add to pressure for Waltz’s removal from office.

The head of US aerospace giant Boeing will on Wednesday tell senators that the company has made “serious missteps in recent years” and commit to restoring consumer and investor confidence, according to an advance copy of his remarks.On the eve of the hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Kelly Ortberg sent a message to the company’s 160,000 employees saying his testimony would be key “to restore trust” in the crisis-plagued manufacturer.”Boeing has made serious missteps in recent years — and it is unacceptable,” Ortberg will say, according to the prepared remarks, which the company made public Tuesday.Boeing has suffered for several years from production quality problems, with the latest major incident in January last year involving an Alaska Airlines 737 seeing a door plug fly off mid-flight.In January, it reported a loss of $3.9 billion as the company continued to experience a hit from a more than seven-week labor strike that shuttered two major assembly plants.Ortberg took over in August, and will testify on Boeing’s restructuring efforts.”We have made sweeping changes to the people, processes, and overall structure of our company,” he will say. “While there is still work ahead of us, these profound changes are underpinned by the deep commitment from all of us to the safety of our products and services.”In his message to employees, he said “we are starting to turn the corner in our recovery,” although he added that turning the company around would take “time and action.”Ortberg will acknowledge two 737 MAX 8 crashes in October 2018 and March 2019, which killed a total of 346 people — some of whose relatives are expected at the committee hearing on Wednesday.He will offer a “pledge to make the necessary changes so this never happens again.”Boeing has acknowledged that the design of its MCAS stall protection software contributed to the accidents, which occurred on new aircraft shortly after takeoff. Ortberg will testify that the aircraft manufacturer is implementing a new Safety Management System (SMS) that is “a framework built on proven aviation industry best practices, to proactively identify and manage safety risks that may impact our commercial and defense products.”