House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for 8 hours and 44 minutes on Thursday, setting a U.S. House record for the longest continuous floor speech and postponing a final vote on President Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending plan. Jeffries began at 4:53 a.m. Eastern, using the leadership privilege known as the “magic minute,” and concluded at 1:37 p.m., eclipsing Kevin McCarthy’s 2021 mark of 8 hours 32 minutes. The New York Democrat filled the time attacking the Republican-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which would deliver roughly $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and spending reductions and, according to the Congressional Budget Office, swell the federal deficit by about $3.3 trillion over the next decade. He argued the measure would slash Medicaid, food assistance and other safety-net programs while granting large benefits to corporations and high-income households. Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, said they remained confident of mustering the narrow majority needed to send the bill to Trump before the president’s self-imposed July 4 deadline. The Senate cleared the legislation earlier this week after last-minute talks with GOP hold-outs; the House vote is the final hurdle before the measure reaches the White House. Jeffries’ marathon echoes previous leadership tactics—most recently McCarthy’s 2021 protest of Democrats’ Build Back Better plan—but surpasses them in duration. His record-setting speech ended to a standing ovation from Democrats, leaving lawmakers to resume debate and, barring further delays, proceed to the roll-call that will determine the fate of Trump’s signature domestic initiative.