Democratic senator’s floor speech condemning Trump enters 16th hour

Jeff Merkley of Oregon gives address to make case that president is ‘violating the law’ through authoritarianismUS politics live – latest updatesOregon’s Democratic senator Jeff Merkley is giving a marathon speech on the Senate floor that has entered its 16th hour to make the case that Donald Trump is acting as an authoritarian, including by deploying the military into his home town of Portland.The 68-year-old senator began speaking around 6.20pm on Tuesday evening and continued with few interruptions into Wednesday morning. Standing on the Senate floor alongside placards that read “authoritarianism is here now!” and “Trump is violating the law”, Merkley has paused only to take questions from fellow Democratic senators. Continue reading...