Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took to the House floor Thursday and held it for an extraordinary eight and a half hours, delivering the longest speech in the chamber’s history in an attempt to delay Republican efforts to pass a sweeping domestic policy package.
The speech, delivered under the House rule granting party leaders virtually unlimited speaking time — known informally as the “magic minute” — surpassed the previous record set by Republican Kevin McCarthy in 2021. That, in turn, had broken the earlier record held by Democrat Nancy Pelosi in 2018. Each of them was the minority leader when they spoke.
Jeffries began speaking at 4:52 a.m., using the early morning hours and much of the day to read aloud messages from constituents, particularly those who could suffer from the GOP’s proposed reductions to social programs. He also called out Republicans from politically competitive districts who are backing the measure — districts that Democrats are eyeing closely ahead of next year’s elections.
This marathon speech was the final tactic available to Democrats to hold up progress on the legislation, which was still expected to pass later in the day — just in time to meet a July 4 deadline Republicans set for themselves.
“I’m here today to make it clear that I’m going to take my time and ensure that the American people fully understand how damaging this bill will be to their quality of life,” Jeffries said during the speech. He added, “Donald Trump’s deadline may be Independence Day. That ain’t my deadline.”
Republicans didn’t seem fazed by the long-winded effort. Jeffries officially set a new record at 1:25 p.m. after speaking for eight hours and 33 minutes, and he tacked on another 12 minutes before wrapping up. House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the effort, saying it was “an utter waste of everyone’s time, but that’s part of the system here.”
In contrast to the Senate, where filibusters are a common part of legislative maneuvering, the House usually enforces strict limits on debate. However, under longstanding tradition, the floor is open indefinitely to party leaders who wish to speak.
Jeffries’ filibuster-style delay was not the only holdup the bill encountered. Conservative Republicans objected to Senate revisions in the legislation, triggering a procedural vote that remained open for over nine hours on Wednesday — a record in itself, according to Democrats. In response, GOP leaders worked overnight, lobbying reluctant members, and finally secured the necessary votes by around 3:30 a.m., setting the stage for Jeffries to launch his historic speech.

{Matzav.com}