In some cases, long Senate speeches don’t produce clear results. In other cases, they can help pass or prevent new legislation.

Without Democratic votes to break a Senate filibuster, the GOP would not have been able to pass its stopgap spending bill and avert a government shutdown.

On Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress was preparing to certify officially the results of the 2020 presidential election, a melee took place at the nati…