It is being called the “magic minute.”
That minute turned into hours as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) set a new House floor speech record after spending 8 hours and 44 minutes at the podium Thursday.
The objective of the marathon speech was to delay the vote for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
Jeffries started speaking at 4:53 a.m. EDT, The Hill reported. The speech beat the record set by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in 2021.
Throughout his speech, Jeffries noted he was taking his “sweet time” as he railed against the megabill.
The Democratic spoke on a variety of topics ranging from, his family’s background to encouraging Republicans to vote against the bill.
Jeffries also criticized the House Republican leaders for giving only an hour for debate on the bill before the final vote.
“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 added.
McCarthy set his record after talking for 8 hours and 32 minutes on Build Back Better, a Democratic social spending and climate package.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) held the record before that when she advocated for “Dreamers” in 2018.
Several onlookers took to social media to criticize Jeffries’ marathon speech.
