President Donald Trump announced plans for sweeping tariffs Wednesday, saying "our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered" by other nations.

The aggressive rhetoric came as Trump showed a willingness to dismantle a global economic system that the United States helped to build after World War II. Trump held up a chart while speaking, showing the United States would charge a 34% tax on imports from China, a 20% tax on imports from the European Union, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 32% on Taiwan.

“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” Trump said in remarks at the White House. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”

Here's the latest:

Asian markets tumble following Trump’s tariff announcement

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dipped more than 3.4%, while the Kospi in South Korea dropped 1.8%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 also sank 1.8%.

U.S. stocks whipped through another dizzying day before Trump’s unveiled the tariffs Wednesday. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, and the Dow gained 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite surged 0.9%.

Tesla swung from a sharp loss in the morning to a gain later in the day to help pull the market higher. Treasury yields also veered from lower to higher following a better-than-expected report on the job market.

▶ Read more about markets' reaction to the tariffs

House majority whip praises Trump’s actions, including tariffs, during town hall

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer fielded mostly friendly questions during an hourlong telephone town hall with constituents in Minnesota.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has encouraged Republican lawmakers to avoid holding in-person town halls where they’d run the risk of hostile questioning and protesters.

Emmer extensively praised the actions that Trump has been taking in his first months back in office, including the tariffs he announced earlier Wednesday.

“How about we give this guy some grace while he tried to actually do what he’s been campaigning on for years and his mission to protect American companies and workers?” Emmer said. “There’s still going to be some choppy waters, but when we come out the other side, it’s going to be much better than it was beforehand, and certainly much better than it was the last four years.”

South Korea prime minister calls for emergency measures to support industries affected by tariffs

South Korea’s acting leader called for swift emergency measures to support the auto industry and other businesses potentially affected by the Trump administration’s new tariffs, pledging full government efforts to address what he described as a looming “global tariff war.”

During an emergency government meeting, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also instructed officials to work with business groups to analyze the impact of the U.S. tariff increases and actively engage in negotiations with Washington to “minimize damage” to South Korea’s economy, the trade ministry said.

Han, serving as South Korea’s acting leader while President Yoon Suk Yeol remains impeached over his December imposition of martial law, convened the meeting with trade and foreign policy officials after Trump announced a 25% tariff on South Korea.

US Rep. Scott Perry seems prepared to stand by Trump’s tariffs

The Republican from Pennsylvania said allies and enemies alike have taken advantage of the U.S. for far too long but also suggested that some products should be exempt.

Perry, whose district is home to the candy-making Hershey Company, said products like cocoa and coffee — which cannot be grown domestically in most of the U.S. — should get an exemption.

“We don’t really have much of a choice except to buy them from somebody, from the countries that produce those things,” Perry said during a nearly 90-minute telephone town hall.

He acknowledged that Trump’s tariffs would cause “some market disruptions” but said there can be a “sweet spot” in which the U.S. evens the tariff scales with trading partners.

Senate passes resolution that would thwart Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada

The resolution delivers the president a rare rebuke just hours after he unveiled sweeping plans to clamp down on international trade. It would end the presidential emergency declaration on fentanyl that underpins tariffs on Canada.

The legislation has little chance of passing the Republican-controlled House and being signed by Trump, but it shows the limits of Republican support for Trump’s vision of remaking the U.S. economy by restricting free trade.

▶ Read more about the vote

Pence slams Trump’s tariffs as ‘largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history’

Mike Pence is not a fan of Trump’s new tariffs.

The former vice president posted on the social platform X, “The Trump Tariff Tax is the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history.”

“These Tariffs are nearly 10x the size of those imposed during the Trump-Pence Administration and will cost American families over $3,500 per year,” Pence wrote.

Pence was once among Trump’s fiercest loyalists. The pair have feuded since Pence refused to heed Trump’s calls to ignore the Constitution and attempt to help overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

The world reacts with caution to Trump’s tariffs

Trump’s tariffs have initially been met with measured reactions from key trading partners, highlighting the lack of appetite for a full-fledged trade war.

The fact that the tariffs fell most heavily on parts of the world sleeping through the night appeared to at least temporarily delay some of the potential outrage.

Trump presented the import taxes in the simplest terms: The U.S. would do to its trading partners what he said they had been doing to the U.S. for decades. Some countries have taken issue with the White House’s calculations.

▶ Read more about some of the reactions

Canadian leader says Trumps measures have preserved important elements of Canada-US commercial relationship

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says Trump’s measures are going to fundamentally change the international trading system but preserved a number of important elements of the commercial relationship between Canada and the U.S.

Spared for the moment from the latest round of tariffs were Canada and Mexico, so far as goods that already qualified under their free trade agreement with the United States.

The previously announced 25% steel and aluminum tariffs remain in place. Carney says the impact on the U.S. economy will be negative and that will impact Canada. Carney says the measures will impact millions of Canadians and his government will fight it with countermeasures.

US wine industry leader says tariffs will hurt sellers

Tom Wark, the executive director of the National Association of Wine Retailers, said the tariffs will hurt wine sellers because many of the products they sell — like Champagne and prosecco — can only be made overseas.

Wark said higher prices for a discretionary item like wine will further challenge the industry, which has already been hurt by inflation and downturns in consumption.

“Tariffs on imported wines aid no one,” Wark said.

Economists say new duties could raise the average US tariff rate to about 25%

The new duties could raise the average U.S. tariff rate to as high as 25%, according to calculations by two different economists, from about 3%. Such an increase, if it remains in force, would leave U.S. duties at their highest level in decades.

Omair Sharif, an economist and founder of Inflation Insights, said the duties would even top the 20% rate put in place by the Smoot-Hawley tariffs that were imposed in 1933 and are widely blamed for worsening the Great Depression.

Still, economists said the fact that the tariffs won’t take effect until April 5 at least leaves room for some last-minute negotiations that could delay or alter the import taxes.

EV group says new tariffs will hurt US competitiveness

An advocacy group for electric vehicles says Trump’s tariffs will increase costs to consumers and make it more difficult for the U.S. to attract investment for electric vehicles and battery supply chains.

Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, said the tariffs introduce “uncertainty and risk into an industry that is creating jobs and bringing new economic opportunities to communities across the country.”

The plan will likely harm long-standing U.S. trade partners such as Canada, Mexico and South Korea that have committed billions in direct investment in electric vehicles and battery supply chains, Gore said.

Building new manufacturing capacity and securing supply chains for components and hardrock minerals needed for EVs and other technology is essential to help the U.S. compete with China, he said.

New Zealand’s trade minister says 10% tariffs were ‘not unexpected’

New Zealand’s trade minister, Todd McClay, said the tariffs announced on his country’s goods were “not unexpected” and would “have an impact” on exporters.

McClay told reporters that officials were awaiting more detail about what the announcement meant for the Pacific nation of 5 million people and how it would be implemented.

“It is important to note that many other countries around the world are facing much higher tariff rates than New Zealand exporters will be,” he said.

McClay said New Zealand “won’t be looking to retaliate.”

“That would put up prices on New Zealand consumers, and it would be inflationary,” he said.

US labor union federation president says tariffs are a step backward

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said strategic tariffs can be an effective tool for supporting U.S. industries and protecting jobs, but they must be accompanied by policies that invest in manufacturing and promote workers’ right to organize.

“Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s attacks on trade union workers’ rights at home, gutting of the government agency that works to discourage the outsourcing of American jobs and efforts to erode critical investments in U.S. manufacturing take us backward,” Shuler said in a statement. “We will continue to fight for trade policy that prioritizes the interests of working people without causing unnecessary economic pain for America’s working families.”

Bessent says other nations’ retaliation will cause escalation

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that one of the purposes of the tariffs “is setting the stage for long-term economic growth”

“With our gigantic government spending, it was unsustainable,” Bessent said. “We have taken us off that trajectory, and we’re putting us back on a sound trajectory.”

When asked how countries like China, which will see a 54% total tariff rate on imports, should respond, Bessent said, “We’ll see what they do.”

“My advice to every country right now: Do not retaliate,” he said. “If you retaliate, there will be escalation.”

Economist analyst says Mexico and Canada may benefit from Trump’s tariff announcement

Mexico and Canada, excluded from the list of reciprocal tariffs due to the trilateral free trade agreement between the countries, may stand to gain by Trump’s announcement, said Gabriela Siller, economic analyst of the Mexican financial group Banco Base.

Mexico is still affected by a number of more limited tariffs on steel and aluminum and may be subject to tariffs down the line as the administration continues to put pressure on the country to control fentanyl production and migration.

But dodging broader measures by the Trump administration on Wednesday could give Mexico a competitive market edge “despite Trump’s protectionist rhetoric,” Siller said.

“It’s bad news for the world,” Siller said. “Still, it’s good news for Mexico. ... Tariffs will surely lower what (these countries) sell to the United States. That opens up an opportunity in the market.”

US card game company says new tariffs are a ‘disaster for everyone’

Alfred Mai, the founder and CEO of ASM Games, a card game company in San Francisco that sources all of its items in China, called the new tariffs a “disaster for everyone — my business, American small businesses across the board, American consumers.”

He said the 34% tax on Chinese goods is occurring as he is about to place his big order for the fourth quarter, which accounts for 60% to 70% of his business.

“My only hope now is that they negotiate out of this before the first shipments come in to U.S. ports for Christmas sales,” he said. “There’s no other action I can take at this point outside of hoping.”

Otherwise, Mai said he will be forced to raise prices or reduce quality.

US seafood industry leader says tariffs will raise costs and threaten American jobs

The U.S. imports about 80% of its seafood, most of which will now face much higher duties.

“Tariffs will raise the cost of seafood, making the healthiest animal protein on the planet less available and more expensive,” said Lisa Wallenda Picard, president and CEO of the National Fisheries Institute. “Meanwhile, the tariffs could threaten many of the 1.6 million American jobs that, according to the federal government, U.S. commercial seafood companies support.”

The leading sources of U.S. seafood include Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. India will now face tariffs of 26%, Trump said, while Vietnam has been hit with a 46% tariff.

US toy industry leader says he must raise prices following Trump’s tariffs on China

Basic Fun CEO Jay Foreman, whose company is behind such classic toys as Tonka trucks, Lincoln Logs and Care Bears, has been working hard to come up with new ways to cut tariff-related costs like reducing packaging and eliminating batteries with the products.

But Trump’s announcement that he plans a 34% increase in tariffs on Chinese imports has solidified his decision to hike prices. Most of the company’s toys are made in China. He said the Tonka Mighty Dump Truck will go from $29.99 to $39.99 this holiday season, possibly even $45.

“There is no other way,” he said.

US restaurant industry leader says tariffs will increase prices for diners

Michelle Korsmo, the president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association, said the tariffs come at an especially difficult time for the U.S. restaurant industry, which has seen food costs rise 40% over the last five years.

Tariffs will further increase food, beverage and packaging costs and push up prices for diners, Korsmo said, adding that operators also worry about the continuing availability of fresh, imported ingredients.

“Restaurant operators source as many domestic ingredients as they can, but it’s simply not possible for U.S. farmers and ranchers to produce the volumes needed to support consumer demand,” Korsmo said in a statement.

Italy premier calls Trump’s tariffs on the EU ‘wrong’

Italy’s conservative Premier Giorgia Meloni said the introduction by the U.S. of new tariffs against the European Union is a “wrong” measure that doesn’t favor either side.

“We will do everything we can to work towards an agreement with the United States, with the aim of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favor of other global players,” Meloni said in a Facebook post. “In any case, as always, we will act in the interest of Italy and its economy, also by discussing with other European partners.”

Trump slaps 30% tariff on South African goods

He said for the 60% in tariffs that South Africa was imposing on U.S. goods, the U.S. would apply a 30% reciprocal tariff on South African goods into the U.S. These products include products such as textiles and agricultural goods like citrus fruits. He repeated his claim that there were “bad things happening in South Africa”.

“We’re paying them billions of dollars, and we’ve cut the funding because a lot of bad things are happening in South Africa,” he said.

Economist Miyelani Mkhabela said the 30% tariffs were directly linked to the Trump administration’s diplomatic fallout with South Africa.

“The United States has become unpredictable, unreliable, and oppressively destroying the African continent,” Mkhabela said.

South Africa’s trade and industry minister Parks Tau said South Africa would seek a meeting with U.S. officials to discuss the latest developments.

Trump takes aim at ‘de minimis’ exceptions on goods imported from China

Trump has signed an executive order that the White House said would close a “loophole” on small-ticket imported goods from China.

The action seeks to scrap exceptions that had shieled from tariffs imported goods from China worth less than $800.

This is legally known as the “de minimis” treatment. It suggests that the cost of what’s being imported was too low to merit a tariff.

Trump’s action means goods from China would no longer get the exception.

His new round of sweeping tariffs also seeks to end similar exceptions for imports from all countries, but only once the U.S. government has the personnel to properly process such imports.

That means imported goods from most of the world worth less than $800 would eventually also lose their exceptions.

Trump’s tariffs hit Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

The makers of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese said the additional 20% tariff would raise to 35% duties on imports of the Italian hard cheese to the United States, its chief export market with a 22.5% share.

“Certainly the news does not make us happy, but Parmigiano Reggiano is a premium product and the increase in price does not automatically lead to a reduction in consumption,” Nicola Bertinelli, president of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, said in a statement.

He said they intend to negotiate in a bid to drop the additional tariff since Italian Parmigiano Reggiano — made exclusively with milk produced in a defined area of the Emilia Romagna region and aged for at least 12 months — is not in competition with U.S.-made parmesan cheese. He called it “absurd” to hit a product like Parmigiano Reggiano to protect the American market.

British government says US remains UK’s ‘closest ally’ despite tariffs

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government hoped to strike a trade deal to “mitigate the impact” of the 10% tariffs on British goods imposed by Trump.

The U.K. government has been negotiating with the U.S. on a trade deal in hope of escaping import taxes.

Reynolds said “the U.S. is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed.”

British officials have said they will not immediately retaliate, an approach backed by the Confederation of British Industry, a major business group.

“U.K. firms need a measured and proportionate approach which avoids further escalation, the group’s CEO, Rain Newton-Smith, said. “Retaliation will only add to supply chain disruption, slow down investment, and stoke volatility in prices.”

Stock markets fall following Trump’s tariff announcement

The tariff levels are higher than many economists anticipated, causing stock markets to fall in after-hours trading.

“This is clearly worse news on tariffs than we had forecast,” said Michael Pearce, deputy chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, a consulting firm.

Pearce said he will raise his forecast for inflation this year and reduce his expectation for growth in the wake of Trump. He was already forecasting inflation to top 3% later this year, from roughly 2.5% now.

Trump wraps up his tariff announcement speech

The president has wrapped up his speech announcing sweeping tariffs on U.S. trade partners after about 45 minutes.

“I think you’re going to remember today,” he said toward the end, predicting that the public might look back on his economic policies and conclude he was right. That’s despite many experts predicting his policies will mean major upheaval for the U.S. economy.

Trump says his ‘reciprocal’ tariff rates are ‘kind’ and could have been much steeper

Trump is calling his tariff policy “kind reciprocal,” saying he could’ve been much harsher on U.S. trading partners.

The president said the tariff rates he’s imposing, steep as they are, don’t match the levies that some countries impose on U.S. exporters. He’s calling the rates he chose the “discounted reciprocal tariff.”

Trump suggests that US income tax, and moving away from tariffs, helped fuel the Great Depression

Trump used his tariff speech to again champion the Gilded Age.

As he has repeatedly since starting his second term, Trump suggested that the U.S. was at its wealthiest when it was a “tariff nation” between 1870 and 1913.

He added that “for reasons unknown to mankind,” the U.S. went to income tax in 1913.

Trump suggested that the 1930s’ Great Depression was fueled by the U.S. going to an income tax and away from tariffs.

Economists and historians say the U.S. did grow between 1870 and 1913, but that was mostly due to immigration and was wracked by inequality.

List of Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs

Trump: ‘This is one of the most important days’ in American history

“It’s our declaration of economic independence,” Trump said in announcing a barrage of tariffs. “For years, hardworking American citizens were forced to sit on the sidelines as other nations got rich and powerful, much of it at our expense. But now it’s our turn to prosper.”

U.S. financial markets have been unsettled in anticipation of Trump’s tariff announcement. Trump insists the moves will strengthen the U.S. economy, even as many experts worry it could lead to higher prices for most American consumers.

Wall Street swings sharply in final hours of trading before Trump’s tariff announcement

The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in late trading Wednesday, but only after careening between an earlier loss of 1.1% and a later gain of 1.1%. It's had a pattern this week of opening with sharp drops only to finish the day higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 31 points, or 0.1%, with an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher. Both also veered from sharply lower in the morning to sharply higher in the afternoon and then doubled back.

Elon Musk's Tesla helped knock the market around after initially falling more than 6% following a report that it delivered fewer electric vehicles in the first three months of the year than it did in last year's first quarter.

▶ Read more about the financial markets

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says, ‘This is not Liberation Day. It’s Recession Day’

Jeffries told reporters Wednesday that Trump’s rollout of new tariffs would increase prices and ultimately drive the United States into a recession.

Trump is calling today “Liberation Day,” arguing the new tariffs would free the country from unfair trade practices.

“This is not Liberation Day,” Jeffries, a Democrat, said. “It’s Recession Day in the United States of America.”

Trump pressures Senate Republicans to oppose resolution that would nullify Canada tariffs

Senate Republicans are facing pressure Wednesday from Trump to oppose the Democratic resolution that would nullify the presidential emergency on fentanyl he’s using to implement tariffs on Canada.

Just hours before Trump was set to announce his plan for "reciprocal tariffs" on China, Mexico and Canada, the Senate was expected to vote on a resolution that offers Republicans an off-ramp to the import taxes on Canada. It's a significant test for Republican loyalty to Trump's vision of remaking the U.S. economy by clamping down on free trade. Many economists are warning the plan could force an economic contraction and GOP senators are already watching with unease.

The votes of at least four Republicans — Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Rand Paul of Kentucky — were in doubt ahead of the vote.

▶ Read more about the Senate resolution on tariffs

Italy’s premier reiterates call to avoid a commercial war between Europe and US

She stressed that it would harm both sides and would have “heavy” consequences for the Italian economy.

“I remain convinced that we must work to avoid in all possible ways a trade war that would not benefit anyone, neither the United States nor Europe,” Giorgia Meloni said at a public event celebrating Italian food and agricultural products.

Meloni added, however, that her view “does not exclude, if necessary, having to also imagine adequate responses to defend our productions,” in reference to a possible European response to President Trump’s much-awaited announcement on new trade tariffs.

No one is challenging Trump’s executive order that keeps TikTok running

After TikTok was banned in the U.S. earlier this year, Trump gave the platform a reprieve, barreling past a law that was passed in Congress and upheld unanimously by the Supreme Court that said the ban was necessary for national security.

The Republican president's executive orders have spurred more than 130 lawsuits in the little more than two months he has been in office, but this one barely generated a peep. None of those suits challenges his temporary block of the 2024 law that banned the popular social video app after the deadline passed for it to be sold by ByteDance, its China-based parent company.

Few of the 431 members of the House of Representatives and the Senate who voted for the law have complained.

Despite a bipartisan consensus about the risk to national security posed by TikTok’s ties to China, “it’s as if nothing ever happened,” said Sarah Kreps, director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute.

▶ Read more about Trump's executive order on TikTok

Wall Street falls in final hours of trading before Trump’s tariff announcement

The S&P 500 was 0.7% lower in early trading Wednesday morning, but it's had a pattern this week of opening with sharp losses only to finish the day higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 240 points, or 0.6%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% lower.

Tesla helped pulled the market lower after it said it delivered fewer electric vehicles in the first three months of the year than it did in last year's first quarter. Its stock fell 4.7% to extend its loss for the year so far to nearly 37%. Tesla, one of Wall Street's most influential stocks, has faced growing backlash due to anger about CEO Elon Musk's leading the U.S. government's efforts to cut spending.

▶ Read more about the financial markets

Contest to decide who can build casino in New York could result in $115 million jackpot for Trump

The Republican stands to win big if state officials award one of three available gaming licenses to Bally’s Corp., which wants to open a casino at a city-owned golf course that used to be run by Trump’s company.

In 2023, Bally’s paid Trump $60 million for the rights to operate the public 18-hole course on the Bronx shoreline, near where the East River meets the Long Island Sound.

The gaming company promptly took down the massive “Trump Links” sign that was, at one time, all but impossible to miss for drivers going the Whitestone Bridge, and renamed the course Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point.

But under a little-noticed side deal, Bally’s promised to pay Trump another $115 million if Bally’s were to get a license to open a casino on site.

▶ Read more about New York casinos and Trump

Mass layoffs at HHS bring new worries for the future of the Head Start program

Some of the preschool centers had to close or furlough staff earlier this year because of glitches with a funding website. Now scores of government employees who help administer Head Start have been put on leave.

Preschool operators say they’ve received no communication from the Office of Head Start and don’t know who to turn to if they have questions about grants.

Head Start is federally funded but run by schools and nonprofits. It serves more than half a million low-income children.

▶ Read more about the Head Start program

Danish prime minister heads to Greenland as Trump seeks control of the Arctic territory

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is traveling to Greenland on Wednesday for a three-day trip aimed at building trust and cooperation with Greenlandic officials.

Frederiksen announced plans for her visit after U.S. Vice President JD Vance visited a U.S. air base in Greenland last week and accused Denmark of underinvesting in the territory.

Greenland is a mineral-rich, strategically critical island that's becoming more accessible because of climate change. Trump has said the landmass is critical to U.S. security. It's geographically part of North America, but is a semiautonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark.

Frederiksen is due to meet the incoming Greenlandic leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, after an election last month that produced a new government. She’s also to meet with the future Naalakkersuisut, the Cabinet, in a visit due to last through Friday.

▶ Read more about the Danish prime minister's trip to Greenland

Trump to hold a meeting on possible investors to buy TikTok with possible ban at stake

Trump will hold a meeting Wednesday with aides about possible investors who could buy a stake in TikTok, a deal that could potentially stop the social media site from being banned in the United States.

The details of the meeting were confirmed by a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

There has been uncertainty about the popular video app after a law took effect Jan. 19 requiring its China-based parent, ByteDance, to divest its ownership because of national security concerns. After taking office, Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve by signing an executive order that delayed until April 5 the enforcement of the law requiring a sale or effectively imposing a ban.

▶ Read more about the potential sale of TikTok

US and Russian officials to discuss plans for ending the Russia-Ukraine war

Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to meet at the White House with a top adviser to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to discuss plans for a Ukraine ceasefire.

A U.S. official said Witkoff, who’s traveled several times to Moscow for talks with Putin, plans to see Kirill Dmitriev. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting hasn’t been officially announced.

Dmitriev runs Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and has been a key interlocutor in discussions between the Trump administration and the Kremlin on numerous issues, including the Ukraine war and the release of American detainees in Russia. The official said the Treasury Department had to temporarily suspend U.S. sanctions on Dmitriev so he could legally travel to the United States.

— Matthew Lee

With a nod to America’s civil rights legacy, Sen. Cory Booker makes a mark of his own

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker ended his record-setting speech the same way he began it, more than 25 hours earlier: by invoking the words of his mentor, the late civil rights icon John Lewis.

“He endured beatings savagely on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, at lunch counters, on freedom rides. He said he had to do something. He would not normalize a moment like this,” Booker said of Lewis’ work as a young activist during the Civil Rights movement. “He would not just go along with business as usual.”

A break from “business as usual” was what Booker had in mind as he performed a record-breaking feat of political endurance, holding the Senate floor for 25 hours and 5 minutes while delivering a wide-ranging critique of Trump and his policies.

▶ Read more about Booker's record-breaking speech

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