House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries can claim one win following his nearly 9-hour speech in opposition to the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill on Thursday.
Unfortunately for him, it was not that he prevented the legislation from clearing the House, but he did set a record for the longest speech in the chamber’s history.
The bill ultimately passed the House by a vote of 218 to 214, with all but two Republican members voting for it, while every Democrat voted against it.
U.S. House of Representatives PASSES GOP Tax & Spending Cuts Bill, 218-214.
Goes now to the president. pic.twitter.com/pKXURzh9xF
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 3, 2025
Prior to the vote, Jeffries held the floor for 8 hours and 44 minutes, speaking for a record time in opposition to the OBBB during what’s known as his “magic minute” address, The Hill reported. The so-called magic minute is the privilege given to House party leaders to speak as long as they would like during a floor debate.
The Democrat surpassed the previous high benchmark for such a speech held by then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, when he spoke for 8 hours and 32 minutes in 2021 in opposition to the then-President Joe Biden-backed Build Back Better legislation. The bill cleared the House, but ultimately failed to garner enough support in the Senate.
Jeffries began his remarks at 4:52 a.m. Thursday morning, saying, “I rise today in strong opposition to Donald Trump’s one big ugly bill. This disgusting abomination GOP tax scam that guts Medicaid, rips food from the mouths of children, seniors, and veterans, and rewards billionaires with massive tax breaks.”
Throughout, he referred to a large three-ring binder he kept on the podium, apparently giving him various topics to cover.
One was immigration. During his remarks, he warned, “A deportation machine will be unleashed on steroids by this one, big ugly bill.” Well, immigration was a campaign issue, and the vast majority of Americans want illegal aliens who have committed other crimes out of the country.
Hakeem Jeffries: “A deportation machine will be unleashed on steroids” if the BBB passes
YES! 🔥 That’s what 77 million Americans voted for 👏 pic.twitter.com/14xkI3ZD9R
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 3, 2025
The OBBB provides $150 billion for border wall funding, immigration enforcement, and deportations, according to The Hill.
This legislation also builds on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by increasing the standard deduction for taxpayers by $1,000 for single filers and the child tax credit to a maximum of $2,500.
Additionally, the bill fulfills Trump’s campaign promises of no tax on tips and no tax on overtime. Further, it increases the standard deduction for seniors by $4,000, meaning most of the Social Security income an average recipient receives will be federal income tax-free.
.@RepJeffries and his fellow America Last Democrats “want no part of” the largest tax cut for working Americans in history, which they see as “a crime scene.”
This is why nobody takes them seriously. pic.twitter.com/VXCUHm9znb
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 3, 2025
It’s not clear what tax breaks for billionaires Jeffries was referring to, because all the legislation does is keep the 2017 tax rates in place, with a top bracket of 37 percent for the highest wage earners.
The only higher wage earners who make out better under the OBBB are those living in high-tax blue states like Jeffries’ own New York and New Jersey, and California. Residents (most of whom are not billionaires) can deduct up to $40,000 in state and local taxes paid from their federal income tax, instead of $10,000, which was the 2017 cap.
This was a compromise the GOP had to make to get their members from these states to back the bill. Is Jeffries really against that provision? I think not.
The corporate tax rate stays the same, at 21 percent. The OBBB does allow full expensing deductions for research and development, as well as for new factory construction. The point of these provisions is to encourage job growth and return more manufacturing to the U.S.
Jeffries finally finished his rant about the OBBB around 1:30 p.m.
House Speaker Mike Johnson then rose to address the chamber, but first took a lighthearted jab at the Democratic leader by placing a large three-ring binder on the podium, which drew laughter from lawmakers.
.@SpeakerJohnson: “Ronald Reagan said one time that no speech should be longer than 20 minutes. Unlike the Democrat Leader, I’m going to honor my colleagues time a be a little more brief than that.” pic.twitter.com/Cy8HT85vD1
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 3, 2025
“You know Ronald Reagan said one time that no speech should be longer than 20 minutes. And unlike the Democrat Leader, I’m going to honor my colleagues’ time and be a little more brief than that,” the speaker said.
In the end, Jeffries failed in his efforts to tank the OBBB: Johnson and congressional Republicans got their win.
The bill now goes to the White House, where Trump will sign it into law on the Fourth of July.
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