House Democrats pushed back the vote on the plan to expand the social safety net to Friday morning after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) stalled with a rambling, hours-long speech.
McCarthy started speaking at 8:38 p.m. ET and stopped speaking early Friday morning after eight hours and 32 minutes the longest house floor speech in history. McCarthy could hold the floor for that long due to the “Magic Minute” rule that allows the House majority and minority leaders to express their views – though McCarthy exceeded the “minute” by a wide margin.
The sweeping $1.9 trillion economic legislation was eventually passed later Friday morning and is a key pillar in President Joe Biden‘s domestic agenda.
Former President Donald Trump praised McCarthy for his speech. “Great job by Kevin McCarthy last night, setting a record by going over 8 hours of speaking on the House Floor,” Trump wrote in a statement.
