House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sketched out Democrats’ attacks on the Republican megabill before it passed early Thursday morning — and engaged in a brief testy exchange after he was admonished for his remarks.
Jeffries, who as a party leader is allowed to speak for an unlimited amount of time during debate, spoke for roughly 37 minutes starting around 5:30 a.m., calling the sprawling party-line legislation “an assault on the economy, an assault on health care, an assault on nutritional assistance, an assault on tax fairness and an assault on fiscal responsibility.”
In one fiery moment, the Republican presiding over the debate — Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas — told Jeffries to direct his comments to the chair rather than referring to Republicans as “you.”
Jeffries then suggested he was not being given the same treatment as Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who had just wrapped up his own extended speech.
“You know what’s interesting? Every time I come on this floor, I can use sharp language, [Scalise] can use sharp language, you choose to admonish me,” he added. “I don’t work for you, sir. I work for the American people.”
Womack again urged him to respect House “decorum”; Jeffries shot back that he’d add 15 minutes to his remarks every time he is interrupted.
Jeffries went on to frame the attacks that Democrats plan to make over the coming 18 months as they prepare for the 2026 midterms. He focused especially on cuts to funding for safety-net programs and shared stories of people who rely on these programs from Republican districts, some of which Democrats are hoping to flip next year.
“Children will get hurt. Women will get hurt. Older Americans who rely on Medicaid for nursing home care and for home care will get hurt. People with disabilities who rely on Medicaid to survive will get hurt. Hospitals in your districts will close. Nursing homes will shut down. And people will die,” he said. “That’s not hype. That’s not hyperbole. That’s not a hypothetical.”
“We’re here to say as House Democrats … if your representatives won’t fight for you, we will,” he continued.
That rhetoric stirred an angry response from Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who called the Democratic leader “pathetic” for “fear mongering” during his speech. Van Orden, whose district has been targeted by Democrats, referred to Jeffries — who is the first Black congressional party leader — with a crude reference to Barack Obama, the first Black president.
“Pretendabama is currently lying his ass off again,” Van Orden said in a post on X. “Fear mongering with our seniors, hungry children, veterans, and all Americans who are most in need.”
Jeffries in his remarks said Democrats would have the last word at the ballot box.
“This day may very well turn out to be the day that House Republicans lost control of the United States House of Representatives,” he said. “Because the American people are paying attention. They are smarter than you think, and they know when they are being hurt, they know when their interests are not being served, and they know when they have been lied to and deceived.”
