U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the Democratic minority leader of the House of Representatives, launched an hours-long marathon speech on the House floor Thursday morning to delay the vote on President Donald Trump and Republicans’ “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” which will cut more than $1 trillion in Medicaid and SNAP benefits for millions of Americans.
Jeffries vowed to “take my sweet time” as he condemned the massive tax and budget bill and read letters from constituents—including those in districts represented by Republicans—about their opposition to it.
“You’re ripping healthcare away from millions of Americans…ripping food away from children and veterans and seniors, raising the cost of utilities, of paying your energy bill by hundreds of dollars, stripping away millions of jobs all across America,” warned Jeffries, who has to date been speaking on the House floor for more than five hours.
“Shame on the people who’ve decided to launch that kind of all-out assault on the health and the well-being of everyday Americans,” he said.
While the “OBBBA” has some appealing provisions, like no taxes on tips and overtime pay, experts and advocates point out that the $3.8 trillion tax cuts will mostly benefit millionaires, billionaires, and corporations. They warn that the $930 billion in cuts to Medicaid and more than $200 billion in cuts to food assistance through SNAP represent a devastating wealth transfer to fund major tax breaks for the wealthy. What’s worse, they say people will literally die as a result.
In his speech, which began just before 5 a.m., Jeffries slammed Trump and Republicans for not living up to their promise in the 2024 election to prioritize the cost of living.
“Republicans and Donald Trump promised that costs would go down on day one. Costs haven’t gone down under Donald Trump and House Republicans here in the United States of America. In fact, costs have gone up,” said the New York congressman.
Jeffries also accused Republicans of trying to sneak the bill into law overnight because they are actually ashamed of it.
“If Republicans were so proud of this one big, ugly bill, why did debate begin at 3:28 a.m.?” he said. “Republicans are once again…trying to jam this bill through the House of Representatives under the cover of darkness.”
It’s not clear how long Jeffries intends to embark on his marathon speech; however, the record for the longest House floor speech is 8 hours and 32 minutes, which was delivered by former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2021.
“We’ve embraced the American people. We haven’t run from the American people. House Democrats will continue to run toward the American people and lift their voices up,” said Jeffries.
The “One Big, Beautiful Bill” is overwhelmingly unpopular with the American public, polling nearly 60% in opposition to its provisions. Experts warn that it will also drive up health-care costs for those covered by the Affordable Care Act or private insurers and increase the cost of student loans. The bill is also estimated to add nearly $4 trillion to the nation’s debt, which could also drive up interest rates.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s shocking, absolutely shocking,” said Democratic strategist Joel Payne, who worked on Capitol Hill under former U.S. Senator Harry Reid as Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Payne told theGrio that, as the opposition party, Democrats have the “responsibility” to “define” the devastating consequences of Trump and Republicans’ bill to the American public. He described it as “performing politics.”
“Nobody wants this bill. The people who are voting for it don’t want it. Their constituents don’t want it,” said Payne. “Fealty to Donald Trump is more important than what’s best for their constituents.”
