How did Cory Booker speak for 25 hours without even a bathroom break?

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker is making headlines for his record marathon speech that lasted all night and into Tuesday, but his physical preparation ahead of his Senate floor moment is also making headlines. 

How did Cory Booker speak for so long without a bathroom break?

Local perspective:

Sen. Cory Booker shared that he did not eat for days and intentionally dehydrated himself so he wouldn’t have to go to the bathroom in preparation for his marathon speech on the Senate floor.

He began his speech Monday night at 7 p.m. and explained in a video posted on X that he planned to disrupt "the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able."

Why did Cory Booker hold a marathon speech on the Senate floor?

Why you should care:

The senator used his time on the Senate floor to protest and show resistance to President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies, while delaying legislative business Tuesday in the Senate, USA Today reported. 

According to the Associated Press, Booker talked for hours against cuts to Social Security offices led by Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. 

RELATED: Cory Booker breaks record for longest Senate speech

Booker also listed the effects of Trump's early executive orders and addressed concerns that broader cuts to the social safety net may happen.

Booker told reporters that he was calling for Americans to respond with resistance to Trump’s actions but also with kindness and generosity for those in their communities, according to the Associated Press. 

Booker’s marathon speech breaks a record

Dig deeper:

The 55-year-old senator’s speech lasted 25 hours and 5 minutes and set the record for the longest continuous Senate floor speech in the chamber’s history. 

According to the Associated Press, the 55-year-old senator’s marathon speech broke a record set 68 years ago by then Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, a segregationist and southern Democrat, to filibuster the advance of the Civil Rights Act in 1957.

Who is Cory Booker?

The backstory:

Sen. Cory Booker is serving his second Senate term and launched a presidential campaign in 2020 from the steps of his home in Newark, New Jersey. Booker dropped out after struggling to gain momentum in a packed presidential field, and he fell short of the criteria to meet in a January 2020 debate.