Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) concluded his marathon speech on Wednesday afternoon, having held the floor for 22 hours and 39 minutes to rail against "grave threats" presented by President Trump.

Merkley, a three-term senator, began speaking shortly before 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and ended at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, the 22nd day of the government shutdown.

Headlining his attacks were Trump's move to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Ore., the ending of numerous research grants to universities and the recent indictments of the president's high-profile political opponents.

In all, he argued that they represent a serious threat to U.S. democracy.

Merkley, 69, was joined on the floor at times by a number of his Democratic colleagues, with some of them asking him long-winded questions to les

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