Jeffries Delays Final House Vote On Trump Bill With Marathon Speech

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Calif.) commandeered the chamber floor early Thursday morning to deliver a marathon speech hammering away at the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill,” stalling a final vote on the sprawling package full of President Trump’s legislative priorities.

The Republican bill is almost 900 pages long, and Jeffries bashed House GOP leaders for allotting only one hour of debate on its contents before the final vote, split into 30-minute segments between the two main committees of jurisdiction. The Democratic leader said he wanted to compensate for what he considers a dearth of discussion, warning Republicans at the outset that he was going to “take my sweet time.”

“It had been my hope, Mr. Speaker, that we’d be able to have a robust debate, passionate support, or passionate opposition in connection with this bill. That hundreds of members on both sides of the aisle could participate in, and instead we have a limited debate where the relevant committees of jurisdiction have been given 15 minutes each on a bill of such significant magnitude as it relates to the health, the safety, and the well-being of the American people,” Jeffries said.

“And because that debate was so limited I feel the obligation, Mr. Speaker, to stand on this House floor and take my sweet time to tell the stories of the American people. And that’s exactly what I intend to do — take my sweet time.”

He’s doing just that.

Jeffries took the House floor at 4:53 a.m. on Thursday for what is referred to as his “magic minute,” which empowers leaders in both parties to speak in the chamber for as long as they want during legislative debates.