Leading the House floor early Thursday morning, Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the House minority leader, successfully obstructed a significant tax and spending bill put forward by the GOP, thereby postponing a crucial vote on a package representing many of President Trump’s priorities.
This Republican proposal spanned nearly 900 pages. Jeffries dedicated an hour for debate on its contents before the vote, which involved lengthy exchanges criticizing the GOP leadership. He expressed his intention to make up for the rushed discussions by emphasizing, “take my sweet time,” signaling the gravity of the situation.
He voiced frustration that, instead of thorough discussions, relevant committees limited member participation to just 15 minutes each. He stated, “With that minimal discussion, I feel it’s my duty to take up time on the floor to address the needs of Americans.”
And that’s exactly what he did.
Beginning his address at 4:53 AM EDT, Jeffries referred to the time as “Magic Minutes.” Remarkably, by 9:30 AM, he was still going. Approaching four hours, speculation arose that he might be aiming to set a record for the longest speech in the House.
This honor previously belonged to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who had held a similar position in 2021.
As for when Jeffries planned to conclude his remarks, that remains unclear. Not long after 9 AM, the Democratic Whip Office announced that the speech would be “continuous.”
At the outset of his speech, many Republicans anticipated a brief talk and joined the Democrats in the chamber. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was among those waiting to speak. However, watching Jeffries persist without pausing caused many Republicans to leave the floor.
By 9 AM, the Republican side was nearly empty, with only a few members lingering to hear what was being discussed.
Much of Jeffries’ speech involved sharing heartfelt letters from citizens describing how federal programs like Medicaid benefited families. His message was clear and stark: the proposed cuts in the bill could severely undermine those gains, with the grave consequence that “people die.”
Additionally, he pointed out which areas the letter writers hailed from, specifically naming Republican lawmakers representing those constituents—many of whom are facing tough re-election battles next year.
With the vote stalled, other Democrats urged their supporters to reach out to GOP representatives and oppose the bill.
Jeffries’ drawn-out speech came as a surprise on Capitol Hill. Just a day earlier, a source close to his office had suggested he would only speak for about an hour.
