House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for 8 hours and 44 minutes on Thursday, delaying final passage of Republicans' budget bill.

The "magic-minute" speech is a procedure that grants members of House leadership unlimited time to speak after debate on a bill has concluded. For context, then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, spoke for more than eight hours in 2021 when the House passed President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act.

At 4:53 a.m. on Thursday, Hakeem Jeffries took his place at the lectern on the House floor, bound by no time limit, and began reading letters from constituents in Republican districts who have expressed fear of President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending bill becoming law.