As of 10:00 a.m., Wednesday morning, Sen. Merkley was still speaking on the Senate floor.
Several Democratic Senators praised the speech, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senators Andy Kim of New Jersey, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Chris Van Hollenof Maryland.
White House Spokeswoman Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital, “Democrats will do anything except vote to open the government. A useless overnight floor speech that no one watched will do nothing to help the millions of Americans who are missing paychecks, losing out on important benefits, or being otherwise harmed by the Democrat’s decision to shut down the government over free health care for illegal aliens.”