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Editor's note: This article is part of a series reviewing Utah and national history for KSL.com's Historic section.SALT LAKE CITY — Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi, of California, garnered attention Wednesday with her rather impressive eight-hour close-to-actual filibuster on the House of Representatives floor.
The 77-year-old Minority Leader of the House easily shattered the previous record of 5 hours and 15 minutes set by Missouri Rep. Champ Clark in 1909, according to The Hill. Her speech focused on "Dreamers," a group of people who were brought into the U.S. illegally as young children and continue to live in the U.S.
Her speech was not the longest recorded speech at Capitol Hill, where the long speeches or filibusters are traditionally been on the Senate floor, but that doesn’t diminish what Pelosi did.
“Legit props for the endurance,” tweeted Brendan Buck, a staffer for U.S House Speaker Paul Ryan, after Pelosi ended her filibuster. Others panned it.
Regardless, it was the latest in memorable long speeches or filibusters in American politics. Here’s a look at how filibustering came about and the longest filibusters in Washington D.C. history.
What is a filibuster?
There have been some notable moments in movie and television filibusters — from Jefferson Smith’s passionate speech on the Senate floor in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” to Leslie Knope’s humorous filibuster at a Pawnee City Council meeting, given while on roller skates, in “Parks and Recreation.”
Filibusters have long been used in American politics and began increasing in popularity in the legislative process in the 1850s, according to the U.S. Senate website. The term itself derives from the Dutch word for “pirate” as they are long speeches given by a congressperson to block or delay a vote on an issue.
Filibuster rules
In the Senate, a speaker who continues without yielding the floor can continue unless they stop or their filibuster is ended by cloture, where at least 60 senators agree to end the debate and proceed to final vote, according to the New York Times.
The House differs in that the debate is brought to a close by “the ordering of the previous question,” according to the House website. This means all debate can be ended and the bill can be brought to an immediate vote— which is why there are no filibusters but long speeches on the House floor.
10 longest filibusters in Washington history
Sen. Strom Thurmond (South Carolina) — 24 hours, 18 minutes
Thurmond, a Dixiecrat at the time, began his filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 at 8:54 p.m. on Aug. 28 that year and didn’t end until 9:12 p.m. the following day, according to Business Insider.
Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (New York) — 23 hours, 30 minutes
D’Amato tried stalling a military-funding bill in 1986, according to NBC News.
Sen. Wayne Morse (Oregon) — 22 hours, 26 minutes
Morse’s speech on the Tidelands oil bill set the then-record in 1953 and when he gave up the floor, a Montana senator spoke another four hours, according to the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) — 21 hours, 19 minutes
Cruz spoke for more than 21 hours against the Affordable Care Act in 2013.
Sen. Robert La Follette (Wisconsin) — 18 hours, 23 minutes
La Follette, stalling the U.S. Senate’s 1909 session for last-minute legislation, became ill from drinking bad eggnog during his filibuster, according to the U.S. Senate. Nevertheless, he carried on, speaking for another six hours, despite dealing with his sudden illness.
Sen. William Proxmire (Wisconsin) — 16 hours, 12 minutes
Proxmire's speech from Sept. 28-29, 1981, attempted to prevent national debt from exceeding $1 trillion at the time, according to the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Huey Long (Louisiana) — 15 hours, 30 minutes
Long’s filibuster regarding one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's alphabet soup agencies in 1935 included his own recipes for fried oysters and turnip-green potlikker, according to the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (Oregon) — 15 hours, 28 minutes
Merkley’s 15 and a half hour filibuster in Feb. 2017 was to block the Senate approving Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Senate eventually passed his nomination.
Sen. Al D’Amato (New York) — 15 hours, 14 minutes
D’Amato began a “gentleman's filibuster” on Oct. 5, 1992, to amend a proposed tax bill. He ended his filibuster the next day after running out of things to say, according to the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Chris Murphy (Connecticut) — 14 hours, 50 minutes
Murphy, a Democrat, spoke for nearly 15 hours about gun legislation in 2016 not long after the Orlando nightclub shooting. The filibuster ended when Republicans agreed to vote on two proposed bills, according to NBC News.
