Somehow, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) managed to get enough resisters to flip their votes and clear another major hurdle for the big, beautiful bill (BBB) last night.
That only came, however, after President Donald Trump sent a message urging Republicans to get the bill on the floor swiftly for a vote.
With only one hurdle left before the bill heads to Trump’s desk for his signature, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has essentially resorted to filibustering to try to delay the bill’s passage.
As the clock started to wind down on July 2, Trump started to lose his patience, sending out a message to House Republicans to get the BBB on the floor and passed.
The problem was that Johnson still had a core of resistance, mostly among Freedom Caucus members, who were still on the fence regarding the changes made to the bill in the Senate.
Trump, frustrated, sent out a message to the caucus, posting, “Largest Tax Cuts in History and a Booming Economy vs. Biggest Tax Increase in History, and a Failed Economy. What are the Republicans waiting for???"
He continued, “What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!”
Johnson did finally get the bill on the floor for a procedural vote, and it managed to pass 219-213 around 3:30 a.m.
Debate was reopened, with a final vote on the floor originally expected for about 5:30 a.m. local time, but a wrench was about to be thrown into the system that would delay that vote, at minimum, for hours.
Johnson credited Trump for helping to clear the last hurdle before the final floor vote, stating, “There couldn’t be a more engaged and involved president.”
Democrats continue to push back on the legislation with a Chicken Little narrative. For example, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) stated, “This bill is catastrophic. It is not policy, it is punishment.”
Rep. Jeffries has resorted to delay tactics, reportedly showing up in chambers with several binders that were believed to contain a speech, which he will give before the bill can move forward.
If reports on this are accurate, Jeffries plans on holding the floor for several hours to delay this vote as long as possible, similar to what Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) did in having the entire bill read, line-by-line, and what Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) did earlier this year, giving a speech that lasted so long, they wrote a book about it.
Jeffries is using his leadership privilege to have what is called a “magic minute,” which means he can sit on that microphone for as long as he wants before Johnson can move the bill forward. It is clearly nothing more than a cheap political stunt, but I am pretty sure he will be made a hero by Democrats and the media for having the “courage” to speak for hours, wasting taxpayer time and money in the process.
Jeffries has stated that he will “take my sweet time” during this speech, so who knows if he will get off the floor at some point today to allow that bill to pass so Trump has it on his desk for an Independence Day signing. Regardless, at some point, he will stop speaking, and I suspect the moment Jeffries walks off the dais, Johnson will floor the bill for its final vote.