hold the floor

hold the floor (third-person singular simple present holds the floor, present participle holding the floor, simple past and past participle held the floor)

1. (idiomatic) To give a speech at a gathering of people, particularly one that lasts for a long time and is the focus of attention in the room.
   • 1945, United States. Congress, Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress, page 8124:

     ... floor of the Senate under which it is possible for a Senator to take the floor, and then an understanding be reached that he will hold the floor over the night recess and have the floor at the beginning of the next day's session.

   • 2004, Richard G. Forgette, Richard Forgette, Congress, Parties, & Puzzles: Politics as a Team Sport, Peter Lang, →ISBN, page 139:

     23 presiding officer to recognize first the majority leader when no other Senator holds the floor and the majority leader seeks recognition . This precedent is the structural basis for the majority leader's capacity to propose unanimous […]

• take the floor
• give the floor
• have the floor

• “hold the floor”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “hold the floor”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.