The Democratic leader of the United States House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, has pronounced the longest speech in the history of the Chamber. He spoke for more than eight hours to delay the passage of the internal policy spring of the Republicans.
The extended floor time, known as the “magical minute”, is a procedure rule that allows the leaders of the unlimited time party to speak once the formal debate ends.
Jeffries's speech broke the previous record established by Republican Kevin McCarthy in 2021, which exceeded Nancy Pelosi's mark in 2018. The three served as the leader of the Chamber's minority during their record speeches.
Jeffries began talking at 4:52 am et on Thursday and spent the hours reading letters of the voters, highlighting how the proposed legislation could damage the people who trust social media programs.
He also called the Republicans of the Purple District who are expected to vote in favor of the bill: Districts' Democrats are considering for the next mid -period elections.
“I am here today to make it clear that I am going to take my time and make sure that the American people completely understand how harmful this bill will be for their quality of life,” Jeffries said.
He added with the point of view: “Donald Trump's deadline may be Independence Day. That is not my deadline.”
The speech is part of the final effort of the Democrats to stop the bill before the expected final vote, which is still likely to pass later on Thursday on time for the self -imposed deadline of July 4 of the Republican Party.
At 1:25 pm, Jeffries crossed the eight -hour and 33 -minute mark, officially entering the registration books of Congress. The Republicans, however, showed little concern.
The president of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, ruled out the speech as “a total loss of everyone's time, but that is part of the system here.”
While speech was the most visible tactic, it was not the only obstacle. On Wednesday, the conservative hard funds protested the Senate to the Megabill, forcing a procedural vote to remain open for more than nine hours, the longest vote in the history of the camera, according to the Democrats.
The leaders of the Republican Party worked during the night to influence enough legislators and clear the last obstacle around 3:30 am, just in time for Jeffries to take the floor and set his marathon comments.
(ABC News)
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