House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries cannot stop President Trump's domestic policy bill from passing, but he managed to stall its approval for more than eight hours on Thursday—and set a House record in the process. Jeffries took to the House floor at 4:53am to begin speaking against the bill and didn't wrap up until after 1:30pm. As the Hill reports, his duration of 8 hours and 44 minutes makes for the longest speech ever given on the House floor.
Jeffries broke the previous mark of 8 hours and 32 minutes set by former House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy in 2021, who used his speech to criticize the Build Back Better Bill, per the Washington Post. Both McCarthy and Jeffries took advantage of a tradition known as the "Magic Minute" that allows party leaders to speak longer than their allotted 60 seconds.
- Jeffries: "Our Republican colleagues tried to jam this reckless, extreme bill down the throats of the American people," Jeffries said in his speech. "Had the nerve to start this debate at 3:28am. ... But we made clear that we were going to expose, expose all of the things that are being done to harm the American people, not in the dark of night, but in the light of day."
- Johnson: House Speaker Mike Johnson wasn't impressed. "It's an utter waste of everyone's time, but you know, that's part of the system here," he said as the speech was still continuing. "We'll land this plane before July Fourth," he added, referring to Trump's deadline to sign the bill.
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