House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered the longest speech in House history Thursday, speaking for more than eight hours to delay a final vote on President Trump's $4.5 trillion tax and spending package. Jeffries broke the previous record set by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who spoke for 8 hours and 32 minutes against President Biden's Build Back Better Act in 2021.
The speech serves as Democrats' final attempt to block or draw attention to legislation they lack the votes to defeat, requiring only three Republican defections alongside unified Democratic opposition to fail.
Starting at 4:52 a.m., Jeffries used his "magic minute" privilege as House leader to read personal stories from constituents in each state who rely on programs targeted for cuts12. He focused particularly on Medicaid recipients, sharing accounts of families with disabled children who depend on in-home care services1.
"This reckless Republican budget is an immoral document," Jeffries declared, calling the legislation an assault on healthcare2. According to Politico, he told the chamber he was "still in the A section right now, so strap in" after reading stories from Arizona1.
The Congressional Budget Office projects the Medicaid changes could cause 11.8 million Americans to lose health insurance over the next decade2.
According to Axios, one of Jeffries' central motivations was forcing Republicans to vote during daylight hours rather than in the dead of night1. Democratic sources told Axios this represents the party delivering on base demands to "fight harder" against the GOP agenda1.
"I ask the question, if Republicans were so proud of this one big, ugly bill, why did debate begin at 3:28am in the morning?" Jeffries said during his speech1.
House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Jeffries would speak for only an hour and criticized the speech as an "utter waste of everyone's time," while maintaining he had the votes to pass the bill2.
The marathon speech follows Senator Cory Booker's 25-hour filibuster in April, which earned praise from the Democratic base1. Jeffries and Booker also held a day-long sit-in on the Capitol steps that month protesting Republican fiscal plans1.
"The base wants to see certain things and we have to show them those things, otherwise they don't believe we're fighting hard enough," one House Democrat told Axios1.
"Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me," Jeffries said, quoting Matthew 25:40 as he concluded his remarks2.
