Twenty-one hours is a long time for anyone to speak, but some senators have spoken longer. So, how does Ted Cruz stack up when compared to his Senate counterparts?
The longest U.S. Senate filibusters since 1900, when the Senate began keeping precise records, the senators who spoke for hours on end, the issues and the years:
— 24 hours, 18 minutes: Strom Thurmond, S.C., civil rights bill, 1957.
— 23 hours, 30 minutes: Alfonse D’Amato, N.Y., military bill, 1986.
— 22 hours, 26 minutes: Wayne Morse, Ore., Tidelands oil bill, 1953.
— 18 hours, 23 minutes: Robert La Follette Sr., Wis., currency bill, 1908.
— 16 hours, 12 minutes: William Proxmire, Wis., debt increase, 1981.
— 15 hours, 30 minutes: Huey Long, La., industrial recovery, 1935.
— 15 hours, 14 minutes: D’Amato, tax bill, 1992.
— 14 hours, 13 minutes: Robert Byrd, W.Va., civil rights bill, 1964.
— 12 hours, 52 minutes: Rand Paul, Ky., use of drones against American citizens, 2013.
— 8 hours, 39 minutes: Harry Reid, Nev., protesting a Republican-led filibuster, 2003.
— 8 hours, 37 minutes: Bernard Sanders, Vt., extension of tax cuts, 2010.
