House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) spoke on the floor of the chamber for the longest time in U.S. history in protest of President Donald Trump’s big bill, breaking a record previously held by then-Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Jeffries began shortly before 5 a.m. Thursday by saying he was going to take his “sweet time on behalf of the American people.”
The New York Democrat took advantage of a House custom that allows party leaders unlimited speaking time, known as a “magic minute.”
McCarthy’s “minute” lasted over eight and a half hours back in 2021, when he was protesting legislation championed by then-President Joe Biden dubbed “Build Back Better.”
Jeffries beat the record just before 1:30 p.m. Thursday. He ended his remarks at 1:37 p.m., setting a new record of 8 hours and 44 minutes.
“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 at the beginning of his marathon speech.
He did not make clear exactly how much time he would use, forcing Republican leadership to push back the time of their expected vote as he went on.
Other Democrats used the time to flood social media with calls for people to contact their representatives and tell them to vote against the bill, citing its deep cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and other essential programs for the most vulnerable Americans. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that millions would become uninsured if the bill is passed.
“What is contemplated in this one big, ugly bill is wrong,” Jeffries said. “It’s dangerous, and it’s cruel, and cruelty should not be either the objective or the outcome of legislation that we consider here in the United States House of Representatives.”
Jeffries skewered his colleagues across the aisle for waging an “all-out assault on law-abiding immigrant families” that he labeled “un-American,” as the bill would pump money into Immigration and Customs Enforcement for Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
He also occasionally called out Republicans such as Rep. Elise Stefanik, reciting an estimate of how many residents in her New York district would lose health care benefits under the bill (approximately 44,000).
Trump and his homeland security adviser, Stephen Miller, have made grandiose claims about the big bill being the difference between prosperity and destitution.
“This is the kind of opportunity, once lost, where people look back centuries later and ask how the moment to save civilization was allowed to pass by,” Miller wrote on X very early Thursday.
The White House reportedly expects to stage a bill-signing ceremony late Friday afternoon.
Toward the end of his speech, Jeffries praised the Founding Fathers for creating midterm elections, dubbing the Democrats’ chance to take back the House “Project 2026,” a play on the Republicans’ Project 2025.
He concluded with quotes from the late civil rights icons Rep. John Lewis and Dr. Martin Luther King.
“As I take my seat, I just want to say to the American people, no matter what the outcome is on this singular day, we’re going to press on,” Jeffries said.
“Press on for the rule of law. Press on for the American way of life. Press on for democracy. We’re going to press on until victory is won,” he concluded, adding: “I yield back.”