Democratic leader speaks for more than five hours on House floor as Republicans aim to vote on Trump’s major tax bill – live | US Congress
Published: 2025-07-03 15:33:17 | Views: 4
Jeffries holds the floor for more than five hours – and is still going
Jeffries has just passed the five-hour mark and has no intention of stopping: “We still got some ground to cover.”
“We are going to continue as Democrats to take our sweet time on behalf of the American people because the issues are too significant to ever walk away from,” Jeffries said, to cheers from the Democrats in the chamber.
Hakeem Jeffries has been speaking for five hours now — since 4:53 a.m. — as Democrats stall the final passage of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The record for the longest House floor speech is 8 hours, 32 minutes, set by Kevin McCarthy in 2021. pic.twitter.com/kbBk0lfGNP
The Democrat began speaking shortly before 5am Washington time.
“Join us! Join us!” Jeffries said, appealing to Republicans who have expressed concerns with the bill. “Just four, y’all. We welcome you.”
Key events
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Trump is taking a break from pressuring holdout Republicans to back his “big, beautiful” domestic policy bill to speak to the Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“Will be speaking to President Putin of Russia at 10:00 A.M. Thank you!” Trump the president declared in a social media post shortly before the announced time.
The call comes after the Pentagon said earlier this week that it was pausing shipment of some weapons to Ukraine amid concerns that US stockpiles were running too low – prompting alarm in Kyiv.
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Jeffries holds the floor for more than five hours – and is still going
Jeffries has just passed the five-hour mark and has no intention of stopping: “We still got some ground to cover.”
“We are going to continue as Democrats to take our sweet time on behalf of the American people because the issues are too significant to ever walk away from,” Jeffries said, to cheers from the Democrats in the chamber.
Hakeem Jeffries has been speaking for five hours now — since 4:53 a.m. — as Democrats stall the final passage of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The record for the longest House floor speech is 8 hours, 32 minutes, set by Kevin McCarthy in 2021. pic.twitter.com/kbBk0lfGNP
The Democrat began speaking shortly before 5am Washington time.
“Join us! Join us!” Jeffries said, appealing to Republicans who have expressed concerns with the bill. “Just four, y’all. We welcome you.”
Explainer: Why can Jeffries talk for hours on the House floor?
After a marathon night of arm-twisting, cajoling and pressure by tweet, House Republicans say they’re finally read to vote on Trump’s $4.5tn tax and spending package – a colossal piece of legislation the president wants passed by Friday, the Independence Day holiday.
Final debate on the 887-page megabill began in the predawn hours of Thursday morning. But the Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has been holding the floor for 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.
Democrats are united against what they have renamed the “big ugly” bill, leaving the speaker scrambling to quell concerns within the Republican ranks from more centrist members worried about the cuts to Medicaid and fiscal hawks furious about the debt.
Hours earlier, the House cleared the way for debate with a 219-to-213 vote, suggesting Johnson and the president had quelled the revolt and secured the necessary number of Republicans needed to pass the bill.
But when that happens may depend on Jeffries, who is using his so-called “magic minute” – a tradition that allows House leaders to speak for as long as they want during a floor debate.
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.
“I’m still here to take my sweet time”
Hakeem Jeffries continues to hold the House floor, joking about the fact that he has unlimited time to speak because of his role as Democratic leader.
“The American people do not deserve to die as a result of the Republican cruelty that’s in this legislation,” he said.
Democratic minority leader passes fourth hour of speaking on House floor
Hakeem Jeffries, now passing four hours on the House floor, said the tax and spending bill takes a “chainsaw” to Medicare, Medicaid, nutritional assistance for hungry children, and vulnerable Americans. But, he said, Democrats are “here to make clear, Mr Speaker, we’re determined to take a chainsaw to Project 2025”.
Explainer: What's in Trump's major tax bill?
My colleague Chris Stein has a helpful explainer on what’s in the bill, from extensions of major tax cuts to $45bn for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) to build new detention facilities and more benefits for the rich than the poor.
As Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries continues to delay a vote with his now three-hour-plus floor speech, Republicans remain confident they have the slim margin they need to pass the bill.
Appearing on Fox News Thursday morning, the House majority leader, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, said he expects the bill to move to Donald Trump’s desk in “the next two hours”.
That would mean a vote would need to occur by 10am in Washington.
Tom Ambrose
With a narrow 220-212 majority, Republicans can afford no more than three defections to get a final bill to Donald Trump’s desk.
Democrats are united in opposition to the bill, saying that its tax breaks disproportionately benefit the wealthy while cutting services that lower- and middle-income Americans rely on. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that almost 12 million people could lose health insurance as a result of the bill.
“This bill is catastrophic. It is not policy, it is punishment,” Democratic representative Jim McGovern said in debate on the House floor.
Republicans in Congress have struggled to stay united in recent years, but they also have not defied Trump since he returned to the White House in January.
Any changes made by the House would require another Senate vote, which would make it all but impossible to meet the 4 July deadline.
The legislation contains most of Trump’s top domestic priorities, from tax cuts to immigration enforcement. The bill would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, cut health and food safety net programs, fund Trump’s immigration crackdown, and zero out many green-energy incentives. It also includes a $5tn increase in the nation’s debt ceiling, which lawmakers must address in the coming months or risk a devastating default.
The Medicaid cuts have also raised concerns among some Republicans, prompting the Senate to set aside more money for rural hospitals.
Jeffries continues floor speech opposing bill, passing three hours
The House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has now been speaking for more than three hours on the House floor, highlighting the stories of Americans across the country who will be hurt by the bill.
“This is a crime scene and House Democrats want no part of it,” Jeffries said shortly after 8am in Washington. “And Mr Speaker, this is why we want no part of it.”
A final debate on the floor began shortly before 4am ET after the House passed a procedural vote. You can livestream the latest at the top of the blog.
A final House vote on the bill should follow this debate.
Bill an 'abomination' that will 'reward billionaires', says Jeffries
Tom Ambrose
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has spoken in “strong opposition of Donald Trump’s one big ugly bill”. Jeffries argued that the bill, that he described as an “abomination”, would gut Medicaid and “rip food from the mouth of children, seniors and veterans”. Instead, he said, it would “reward billionaires with massive tax breaks”.
Jeffries continued:
Every single Democrat stands in strong opposition to this bill because we are standing up for the American people.
He questioned why, if the Republicans were so proud of the bill, the debate had begun in the early hours. Many of his comments were followed by applause.
Jeffries said the bill would “hurt everyday Americans” and “people in America will die unncessary deaths”. He added:
That is outrageous, that is disgusting. That is not what we should be doing here in the United States House of Representatives.
House debates Trump’s tax-and-spending bill after overnight advancement
Good morning and welcome to our blog covering US politics.
The House has moved toward a final vote on Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-and-spending bill after hours of wrangling. The procedural vote had been initially delayed by the blocking of a rule that allows the debate to begin. But eventually, the House voted 219-213 to move forward at about 3.30AM ET.
The debate lasted much longer than expected also, mainly due to a marathon session by Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who labelled the legislation a “one big ugly bill” and read out many letters from Americans saying what Medicaid means to them.
Jeffries is still speaking on the House floor, saying in the early hours of Thursday morning that he would take his “sweet time” telling the stories of Americans whose lives will be upended by the legislation if it passes.
Meanwhile, House speaker Mike Johnson was optimistic Wednesday night and said lawmakers had a “long, productive day” discussing the issues, Reuters reported. He also praised Trump for making phone calls to the holdouts through the early hours of Thursday morning.
“There couldn’t be a more engaged and involved president,” the speaker told reporters.
Stick with us today as we break down the events of the day.
