Why is Hakeem Jeffries speaking for hours on the House floor?
Final debate on the 887-page bill began in the predawn hours of Thursday morning, but the Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has been holding the floor for more than five hours, railing against the legislation he and Democrats have warned will slash social safety-net programs that millions of American families and children rely on.
Jeffries is using his so-called 'magic minute' – a tradition that allows House leaders to speak for as long as they want after a floor debate has concluded.
In 2021, then House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy spoke for a record-setting eight hours and 32 minutes, in protest of Joe Biden's signature domestic policy legislation, which ultimately passed when he ceded the floor.
Jeffries started speaking shortly after 5am and would pass McCarthy's record at 1.26pm.
Democrats are united against what they have renamed the 'big ugly' bill. Since the early morning hours, Jeffries has been sharing stories of Americans across the country who will be hurt by the bill, which he says takes a 'chainsaw' to Medicare, Medicaid, nutritional assistance for hungry children and vulnerable Americans. The Democratic leader has stacks of binders next to his podium, and he is reading the stories of people who will lose health insurance, food assistance and other crucial benefits.
Jeffries called the bill a 'crime scene', and an 'abomination' that will benefit billionaires.
'People will die. Tens of thousands, perhaps year after year after year, as a result of the Republican assault on the healthcare of the American people,' Jeffries said.
Republicans continue to defend Trump's signature bill. On Wednesday night, House speaker Mike Johnson was optimistic and said lawmakers had a 'long, productive day' discussing the issues. He also praised Trump for making phone calls to the holdouts through the early hours of Thursday morning.
Trump spent much of Wednesday holding meetings and phone calls with skeptical Republican lawmakers.
As the rule stalled, he threatened the holdout lawmakers, writing on Truth Social: 'What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT'S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!'
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