Inside Hakeem Jeffries' record-breaking decision to filibuster Trump's "big, beautiful bill"

The overwhelming consensus on Capitol Hill was that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) would only delay President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" by about an hour. By midday Thursday, he had broken the record for the longest House speech in history.Why it matters: For months, the Democratic base has been demanding their party's leaders "fight harder" and use every tool at their disposal to stymie the GOP agenda. In the eyes of many lawmakers, this is Jeffries delivering."The base wants to see certain things and we have to show them those things, otherwise they don't believe we're fighting hard enough," one House Democrat told Axios.Jeffries blasted the GOP's marquee tax and spending bill as an "immoral document" in his speech, vowing to "stand up and push back against it with everything we have on behalf of the American people."At 1:26pm ET, Jeffries surpassed then-Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) record-breaking, 8-and-a-half hour speech to delay the Build Back Better vote in 2021. He wrapped up about 15 minutes later, after a total of eight hours and 44 minutes. What we're hearing: One of Jeffries' central motivations, numerous Democratic sources told Axios, was to ensure that Republicans were forced to pass the bill during daylight hours and not in the dead of night.Jeffries said in his speech: "I ask the question, if Republicans were so proud of this one big, ugly bill, why did debate begin at 3:28am in the morning?""This is about fighting for the American people ... forcing it into the daylight and telling some stories about the real impacts," House Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) told Axios.Zoom in: Jeffries spoke with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) ahead of the speech to warn him about his plans, two sources familiar with the discussion told Axios on the condition of anonymity to share details of a private conversation.The House Democratic leader communicated that he was initially "just going to do an hour" but that it "may be longer now," according to one of the sources.Another source said Jeffries made that decision "when he learned [Johnson] was going to stay all night until he got the votes."Multiple lawmakers told Axios that his plans were fueled by Republicans' own record-breaking delay tactics: "Part of it was all the bulls*** that happened last night, all the delays," said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.).What he's saying: "Budgets are moral documents, and in our view ... budgets should be designed to lift people up," Jeffries said in his speech."This reckless Republican budget that we are debating right now on the floor on the House of Representatives tears people down ... and everyone should vote 'no' against it," he said.Jeffries was consistently surrounded by dozens of House Democratic colleagues, who raucously applauded him throughout his speech.Yes, but: The Democratic leader did face a bit of frustration from his caucus for leaving even his inner circle in the dark about his plans."No one is upset Hakeem wanted to do this, but to not tell members, 'be prepared, book multiple flights, be flexible,'" a second House Democrat who spoke on the condition of anonymity vented, grumbling that it is particularly hard to rebook flights around the July 4 holiday. A third House Democrat fumed that a "heads up would have been nice."Between the lines: Jeffries' marathon speech comes after Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) delivered a 25-hour filibuster in April that earned him plaudits from the Democrats' grassroots as a resistance hero.Later that month, Jeffries and Booker held a day-long sit-in on the Capitol steps in protest of Republicans' fiscal plans.The bottom line: "I've done 12 town halls in my district, and the common theme is not only 'fight back,' but 'fight harder' and 'use your voice' and 'use every tool that is available to you,'" said McGovern."One of those tools is our voice," he added. "Hakeem is actually reading real-life stories [of people who would be affected by the bill] ... and I think that's powerful."Said the first House Democrat who spoke anonymously: "So much of politics has turned into showtime, and so we do showtime."Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.

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