5 of the longest filibusters in U.S. Senate history
Senator Strom Thurmond (D-S.C.) is mobbed by reporters as he steps from the Senate Chamber after ending his 24-hour, 18-minutes talkathon against the Civil Rights Bill. The term โfilibusterโ has been in the news the past few days, with Democrats and Republicans debating in the Senate whether they should still exist. With that in mind, it got us thinking: What are the longest filibusters in Senate history? Thurmond quickly returned to the floor, but concerned that nature would call again, his staff came up with an idea. They set up a bucket in the nearby cloakroom, where Thurmond could relieve himself while keeping a foot on the senate floor, according to NPR.
On this day: June 26
2003: Strom Thurmond, the third longest-serving senator in U.S. history, dies in Edgefield, South Carolina, at age 100. Thurmond left office in January 2003 after 48 years in the U.S. Senate as the oldest-serving and longest-serving senator in U.S. history, but was later surpassed in length of service by Robert Byrd and Daniel Inouye. He ran for president in 1948 as the States Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrat) candidate and also served as the governor of South Carolina between 1947 and 1951. As a senator he was known for his opposition to federal civil rights legislation, including the Civil Rights Act of 1957, for which he conducted the longest filibuster ever by a lone senator at 24 hours and 18 minutes. Hide Caption