The “No Kings” movement made its way to the Capitol this week as Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) held the floor for 22 hours and 39 minutes from Tuesday evening into Wednesday afternoon, escalating the Democratic fight against President Trump only days after millions across the country protested his administration’s actions.

Merkley, a three-term senator, began speaking at 6:21 p.m. on Tuesday and held the floor until 5 p.m. Wednesday in protest of what he deemed “authoritarian” actions by the president on a number of fronts, headlined by his deployment of the National Guard in Portland, Ore.

The speech came as the government shutdown hit the three-week mark and highlighted how far apart the two sides are. Democrats, dug in on their demands to attach an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies to the funding bill, cheered Merkley while Republicans dismissed the speech as theatrics.

While unlikely to change the dynamics of the shutdown fight, it was another effort by Democrats to stand with their frustrated base in opposition to Trump.

“People kept saying [at town halls], ‘Why can’t you do more? Isn’t there anything else you can do?'” Merkley said after the speech. “The idea came to my head that we need to … dramatize how fast the authoritarian [actions are] occurring.”

He later added, “It did feel like the right moment is in the middle of the week … and after the vibe had been generated by the No Kings march on Saturday. I didn’t want the momentum to die down.”

Merkley said that in order to prepare for the speech, his “last sip of water, anything … was breakfast on Monday morning on the........

© The Hill