Record-breaking speech delays US House vote

“So as I take my seat, I say to the American people, no matter what the outcome of this day, we’re going to press on.”

Jeffries then led a call and response with Democrats in the House, saying: “We’re going to press on, until victory is won.”

The Kremlin has released further details of a call between Putin and Trump earlier today.

According to Yuri Ushakov, a Putin aide, Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine.

“Vladimir Putin, for his part, noted that we continue to seek a political and negotiated solution to the conflict,” Ushakov said.

Trump was briefed on arrangements between Russia and Ukraine to exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers, Ushakov said.

“Our president also said that Russia will achieve the goals it has set: that is, the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs, to the current acute confrontation, and Russia will not back down from these goals.”

The Kremlin statement offered nothing to suggest that Moscow was ready to negotiate a ceasefire agreement.

President Trump’s flagship policy bill has spent months being debated and voted on in Congress. If it is finally passed it will herald trillions of dollars in tax cuts, hundreds of billions in extra funding for defence and border security, and sharp cuts to Medicaid.

The package is set to cost a record $3.3 trillion over a decade, according to congressional forecasters, and contains almost $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.

Trump has described it as “one of the most consequential bills ever”.

• Read the full story here

As of 1.26pm ET, Jeffries has officially broken the record for the longest speech ever delivered to the House.

The previous record of eight hours and 32 minutes was held by Kevin McCarthy, the former Republican House Speaker, in a speech delivered in 2021.

As he approached the record, Jeffries implored Republicans to reflect on the “harm being unleashed on the American people” by the sweeping tax and spending bill.

“We are better than this,” he said. “We’re not here to bend the knee to any wannabe king. I hope that my Republican colleagues will come to the conclusion that we work for the American people.”

Showing little sign of fatigue, Jeffries has now passed eight hours speaking on the floor of Congress.

Jeffries has repeatedly called the sweeping Republican legislation the “one big ugly bill”, and said it would hurt “everyday Americans in order to reward billionaires with tax breaks”.

“It’s an abuse of the privilege that all of us have as members of the United States Congress,” he said. A large contingent of House Democrats are in the House urging him along.

President Trump spoke to President Putin of Russia for nearly an hour about their common goal of achieving a “negotiated solution” on Ukraine, according to a senior Kremlin aide.

The Russian president vowed he would “not step back” from his goals of “removing the root issues” that led to its war with Ukraine, Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

According to Reuters, Putin insisted that “Ukraine peace talks are between Moscow and Kyiv”.

The two leaders also had “a detailed discussion” on Iran and the Middle East, but did not discuss the US’s pause on delivering some weapons to Ukraine, according to Ushakov.

Trump has not yet said anything about the talks.

Jeffries drew a reaction from his Democratic colleagues as he suggested he might be winding down his marathon speech.

Amid cries of “take your time”, he reassured them he was not planning to wind up any time soon.

“Donald Trump’s deadline may be Independence Day. That ain’t my deadline,” Jeffries said, referring to the Republicans’ self-imposed July 4 deadline to get the spending bill to Trump’s desk.

“We don’t work for Donald Trump. We work for the American people. That’s why we’re right here now, on the floor of the House of Representatives, standing up for the American people.”

Melania Trump visited sick patients at Children’s National hospital in Washington on Thursday.

The first lady stopped by the hospital’s paediatric care centre and inspected a rooftop “healing” garden that she dedicated during the first Trump administration.

“Wow, that’s a big slime!” she told one child as they stretched the sticky goo.

She handed out gift bags with a blanket and teddy bear while wearing a “Be Best” shirt, an initiative she launched in 2018 focused on children’s well-being.

Jeffries has been speaking about his upbringing in Brooklyn and how his working-class family relied on the social safety net at times to get by.

He highlighted the story of his late father, Marland Jeffries, an Air Force veteran who died in 2023 aged 85. The Democratic leader said he regretted never asking his father where his nickname “Puddin’” originated.

Jeffries received a loud cheer from the Connecticut delegation when he mentioned his mother had grown up in the state.

At one point, he said he might not have time to tell his grandmother’s story.

“You got time,” the Democrats in the House responded.

“I’ve got so many stories I feel like I’m in a hip-hop studio right now,” Jeffries added.

Hakeem Jeffries is inching ever closer to breaking the record for the longest so-called “magic minute” speech on the House floor, as he continues to delay a final vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill.

The previous record for such a speech is held by Kevin McCarthy, the former Republican speaker, who spoke for eight hours and 32 minutes in 2021.

Jeffries will break the record if he speaks until 1.26pm ET (6.26pm UK time).
He has been speaking for nearly seven hours.

President Zelensky of Ukraine said that he was hoping to speak to President Trump soon about weapons supplies, specifically citing Ukraine’s need for Patriot missiles.

“I hope that maybe tomorrow or in close days I will speak to President Trump,” Zelensky told reporters in Copenhagen on Thursday.

Trump was due to hold talks with President Putin at 10am ET (2pm UK time).

After passing the six-hour mark, Jeffries has indicated that he plans to keep talking for at least several more hours. The Democratic House leader drew laughs as he suggested he might enter into the record the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the continental congress on July 4, 1776, “later on today”.

Jeffries has devoted much of his speech to reading testimonials from Americans who say they would be harmed by increases to the US deficit and the removal of protections from the social safety net. He condemned Republicans for launching what he described as an “all-out assault on law-abiding immigrant families”, adding that the bill was “unconscionable, unacceptable and … un-American”.

Jeffries, 54, grew up in the Crown Heights neighbourhood of Brooklyn and studied political science and public policy before graduating from New York University School of Law in 1997.

After ten years in private practice, he was elected to the New York state assembly in 2007, and went on to serve three terms in the legislature. Jeffries has represented the 8th congressional district of New York, encompassing a large swathe of southwestern Brooklyn, since 2013, and was elected leader of the House Democratic caucus in 2023, replacing Nancy Pelosi.

He has two sons, Joshua and Jeremiah, with wife Kennisandra Arciniegas-Jeffries, a social worker. Jeffries is a lifelong member of Cornerstone Baptist Church, and often cites his faith as being influential in his leadership and public service.

Trump made a lot of promises on the campaign trail in 2024. Using a range of data sources, The Times is measuring just how closely he is sticking to them — and tracking the president’s approval rating throughout his time in office.

See the latest graphs, tables, charts and opinion poll trackers via the link:

• Trump approval rating 2025: tracking the opinion polls

The White House is said to have planned a signing ceremony for the bill tomorrow but delayed it as Jeffries’ speech approaches the six-hour mark.

The ceremony was earmarked for 9am ET but has been pushed back to 5pm, sources told Punchbowl News. If it happens it will coincide with the annual Fourth of July picnic on the South Lawn, for which workers at the White House have already begun grilling an estimated 2,000 burgers for invited military families and veterans.

Analysis by George Grylls, Washington

Whether or not the House finally passes the bill today, the tight margins of votes in the House and Senate have shown the precariousness of Trump’s grip on Congress.

A handful of Republicans in either chamber can make themselves a nuisance, and Trump will be impatient to gain more leeway by winning seats in the midterm elections held in November next year.

His electoral strategy is clear. The tax cuts come into effect this year, meaning voters will start to see benefits almost immediately and Trump can say he has delivered on election promises. Meanwhile, the painful cuts to welfare programmes are staggered to come into effect after the midterms.

The call announced between the American and Russian leaders today is their sixth known conversation since Trump returned to the White House in January.

They last spoke on June 14 in a call that was mainly devoted to the conflict between Iran and Israel. Neither leader gave any indication about what they would discuss today.

Trump said in March he was “pissed off” with Putin over Russia’s relentless bombing of Ukraine amid US efforts to secure a ceasefire in the three-year-long war. However, ties appear to have warmed again recently. Putin said last week he had “great respect” for Trump and that US ties were improving. Trump described Putin’s comments as “very nice”.

The White House said yesterday it was halting some supplies of weapons to Ukraine after a review of US stockpiles.

• Keep across the latest news in the Russia-Ukraine war with expert analysis and on-the-ground reporting

Mike Johnson, the House speaker, told reporters that Republicans “have the votes” for the final passage of Trump’s sweeping domestic bill.

“The sooner we can get to it, the sooner the Democrats will stop talking, we’ll get this bill done for the people,” he said on Thursday morning. “And we’re really excited about it. So, I’m ready to roll.”

Trump was in a similarly upbeat mood after a long night working the phones to convince Republican holdouts to support the legislation. “What a great night it was. One of the most consequential bills ever,” he posted to Truth Social a few minutes ago. “The USA is the “HOTTEST” country in the world, by far!!!”

Hakeem Jeffries has passed five hours speaking on the House floor as he seeks to delay a final vote on Trump’s megabill. Under a rule known as the “magic minute”, Jeffries can hold the floor for as long as he can keep talking.

Jeffries has been speaking slowly as he lambasts House Republican leaders for allotting only one hour of debate on the contents of the final version of the bill before it is voted on.

“It had been my hope, Mr Speaker, that we’d be able to have a robust debate, passionate support, or passionate opposition in connection with this bill,” he said. “And because that debate was so limited, I feel the obligation, Mr Speaker, to stand on this House floor and take my sweet time to tell the stories of the American people. And that’s exactly what I intend to do — take my sweet time.”

Trump has announced in a Truth Social post he is speaking to President Putin of Russia from 10am ET (3pm UK time).

The latest phone call between the leaders came as the White House has delayed shipments of much-needed weapons to Ukraine. The pause includes some shipments of Patriot missiles, precision-guided rocket launchers, Hellfire missiles and Howitzer rounds.

Ukraine has faced increasing, and more complex, air barrages of drones and missile attacks from Russia in recent weeks.

• Read more: Ukraine seeks answers as Trump puts pause on weapons supplies

At the Senate vote earlier this week three Republicans joined all 47 Democrats in voting against the bill.

Susan Collins of Maine cited concerns about cuts to healthcare, despite a last-minute doubling to $50 billion of a fund to support rural hospitals.

Thom Tillis of North Carolina objected to cuts to Medicaid, a free health insurance programme for children and adults from low-income families.

Rand Paul, a deficit hawk from Kentucky, opposed the legislation due its increase to the debt ceiling.

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she made the “agonising” decision to vote in favour after winning key concessions on federal health and food-aid programs for her state. The vote passed by 51-50 with JD Vance, the vice-president, delivering the tie-breaking vote.

The sprawling policy package would make big changes to tax, healthcare, immigration, defence and energy policy. It includes investment of about $350 billion in national security and Trump’s deportation agenda, including $25 billion to help develop the “Golden Dome” missile defence system.

It seeks to permanently extend the tax cuts that Trump signed into law in 2017, which were set to expire at the end of the year, at a projected cost of $4 trillion, and would also exempt tips and overtime pay from federal income taxes, fulfilling two of Trump’s campaign promises.

Government spending on the health insurance programmes Medicaid and Medicare would be reduced, saving more than $1 trillion.

The bill would also impose more work requirements for people who rely on the supplemental nutrition assistance programme, also known as food stamps, and roll back tax credits on electric vehicles and clean energy.

Trump spent most of last night on the phone to Republicans urging them to pass his signature piece of legislation. He has imposed a deadline of July 4, Independence Day, to get the bill to his desk to sign.

He and Melania Trump, the first lady, are due to meet Edan Alexander, a US citizen who was released by Hamas in May after 584 days in captivity in Gaza, this afternoon. Trump will then depart for Iowa, where he is due to commemorate the holiday and announce plans for next year’s 250th anniversary celebrations.

• An explosive Independence Day problem: 99% of fireworks are made in China

Jeffries’ hours-long speech to delay a final vote on the Trump spending bill has drawn comparisons to the filibustering efforts of another Democrat, the senator Cory Booker.

From March 31 to April 1 this year Booker spoke for 25 hours and five minutes in the Senate to protest against Trump’s second presidency and the cost-cutting operations of the Department of Government Efficiency, led at the time by Elon Musk. The New Jersey Democrat’s speech broke the record for the longest Senate speech, previously held by Strom Thurmond, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes in 1957 to prevent the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Kevin McCarthy, the former speaker of the House, holds the record for the longest speech in the House of Representatives. The Republican spoke for eight hours and 32 minutes in 2021 to stall the passage of the Democrats’ Build Back Better bill.

• Cory Booker fasted for days before 25-hour speech

Hakeem Jeffries, nearly four hours into a speech delaying the vote, has appealed directly to Republicans who may still be on the fence.

“All we need is four Republicans to show John McCain levels of courage who are willing to vote against the ‘one big, ugly bill’,” the Democrat House leader said. McCain, the late senator from Arizona, cast the decisive vote to prevent Republican efforts to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act in 2017.

Mike Johnson, the House speaker, can lose only three votes, assuming all members of Congress are present for the final vote.

President Trump fumed at Republican holdouts overnight in posts on his Truth Social platform last night.

“Largest tax cuts in history and a booming economy vs biggest tax increase in history, and a failed economy,” Trump wrote just after midnight local time. “What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!”

Shortly after, the president added in block capitals: “For Republicans, this should be an easy yes vote. Ridiculous!!!”

A key procedural vote wrapped up at about 3.20am ET (8.20am UK time) after Republican sceptics relented and voted yes.

The official White House X account released a tongue-in-cheek video last night promoting the bill as a solution to a bad hair day.

The video showed before and after shots of several women undergoing makeovers as a narrator listed the benefits of the legislation to everyday Americans. “Are you tired of government promises falling flat? Do you go through an outrageous amount of stress just trying to get by?” a narrator said. “Then bump it up with ‘one big, beautiful bill’ and get that relief fast and easy.”

Over the course of a chaotic night in Congress, Trump and Mike Johnson, the House speaker, managed to persuade sceptical holdouts within the Republican caucus to drop their opposition to the president’s $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bill, and vote for its progression to a final vote.

The One Big Beautiful Bill, which runs to some 887 pages, includes tax breaks, spending cuts, a rollback of solar energy tax credits and a boost for the military and border defence.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said the bill would add nearly $3.3 trillion onto the nation’s debt from 2025 to 2034.

For his part, overnight Trump posted on Truth Social: “What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!”

Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, has delayed the final vote by talking for more than three hours.

Jeffries took to the floor of Congress at 4.53am using a tool known as the “magic minute” that allows leaders unlimited time to speak. “I feel the obligation, Mr Speaker, to stand on this House floor and take my sweet time to tell the stories of the American people and that’s exactly what I intend to do,” he said.

He has been reading from several binders of notes and shows no sign of ending his speech soon.

Trump’s attempt to strong-arm Republican senators to vote for the bill was nearly foiled by an unexpected problem on Wednesday: the weather.

Members of Congress shared pictures of themselves rushing back to Washington before the vote.

Wearing pyjamas and holding her dog, the senator Nancy Mace, a Trump loyalist from South Carolina, shared a livestream of her overnight road trip to support the president. “We made it with an hour to go,” she said, emerging bleary-eyed from a van in Washington on Wednesday morning.

President Trump has been struggling to cajole Republicans to vote for trillions of dollars of tax cuts after a key ally described the marquee legislation as a “shitshow”.

Republican rebels were invited to the White House on Wednesday for last-minute talks. Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker, said there had been “very positive” progress but conceded to CNN that “we can’t make everyone 100 per cent happy”.

“I can’t imagine they have the votes,” the Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene told the War Room podcast hosted by the former Trump strategist Steve Bannon. “There’s no way that Johnson has the votes in the House for this.”

• Read in full: Trump appeals to rebels