House Democrats Grumble Over Hakeem Jeffries’s Marathon Speech on Trump Bill Messing With Their Fourth of July Plans

(AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Publicly, House Democrats are standing behind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’s (D-NY) decision to delay the much-anticipated vote on President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” but behind the scenes, some are complaining to reporters about him putting a wrench in their Fourth of July plans.

According to Axios’s Andrew Solender, Jeffries told Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) that he planned to speak ahead of the vote, but had communicated that he was “just going to do an hour.”

Johnson’s not the only one who might be frustrated by Jeffries’s decision to extend his objection to the bill by many hours, to the point that he’s challenging former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) record eight-hour and 32-minute speech on the House floor.

“The Democratic leader did face a bit of frustration from his caucus for leaving even his inner circle in the dark about his plans,” reported Solender:

“No one is upset Hakeem wanted to do this, but to not tell members, ‘be prepared, book multiple flights, be flexible,'” one House Democrat vented, grumbling that it is particularly hard to rebook flights around the July 4 holiday.

Another House Democrat fumed that a “heads up would have been nice.”

Jeffries will break McCarthy’s record if he speaks until approximately 1:26 p.m. on Thursday.

The bill, which Trump has demanded be sent to his desk by July 4, is expected to pass shortly after Jeffries finally rests his lungs.