Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who controlled the floor for more than 21 hours during an all-night speech on Obamacare in September, actually came in at 20 hours of speaking time according to the C-SPAN analysis. Cruz occasionally deferred to supportive colleagues during that quasi-filibuster, which cut down on his floor speaking time. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) controlled the floor for nearly 13 hours in March during a filibuster against CIA director nominee John Brennan, but failed to crack the top five.