After a successful early morning procedural vote that cleared the path for debate on the president’s megabill, House Republican leaders are now confident that the legislation will clear the lower chamber sometime today.

Barring any last-minute, unforeseen maneuvering later this morning, most House Republican fiscal hawks who have spent recent days excoriating the Senate-drafted bill’s spending-cut and Medicaid provisions are expected to support the bill as is, without any major changes to the current legislative text.

But as the clock ticks toward Independence Day recess, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is taking his “sweet time” holding up the bill’s passage on the House floor.

Since around 4:52 AM this morning, the New York Democrat has spent his unlimited floor time – typically called the “magic minute” — railing against the bill’s Medicaid reforms and insisting that the legislation will hurt the middle-class. “How can you prepare to celebrate legislation that will undermine the quality of life of everyday Americans?” he asked his Republican colleagues.

Democrats have spent months arguing that the bill will cut social safety net benefits for the needy to offset tax cuts for the rich, and they’re expected to lean into Republican-passed entitlement cuts during the 2026 midterm cycle.

“This reckless Republican budget is an immoral document and everybody should vote no against it because of how it attacks children and seniors and everyday Americans and people with disabilities,” he said.

Like his Senate counterpart, Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York, Jeffries is facing immense pressure from his base to resist the Trump administration’s agenda — no small feat given Republicans enjoy a rare trifecta in Washington this Congress.