Hakeem Jeffries Smashes ‘Magic Minute’ Record And No One But C-Span Cares

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) set a new record on Thursday when his “Magic Minute” dragged on for more than eight hours and 33 minutes, challenging even his most ardent supporters’ commitment to keeping their eyes open so that they could watch him meet that milestone.

While the House of Representatives does not have the filibuster — a fact that mercifully spares members from stunts of this caliber most of the time — there is a privilege afforded to party leaders known as the “Magic Minute,” which essentially allows them to speak uninterrupted for as long as they’d like. Jeffries made use of that privilege, but only C-Span appeared to notice when he broke the record set by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy when he was the Minority Leader.

“MAGIC MINUTE” RECORD: On Nov. 18-19, 2021, then Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke on the House floor for a record 8 hours and 32 minutes. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries began his floor remarks at 4:53am ET – 8 hours and 33 minutes ago,” the post read.

“MAGIC MINUTE” RECORD:

On Nov. 18-19, 2021, then Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke on the House floor for a record 8 hours and 32 minutes.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries began his floor remarks at 4:53am ET – 8 hours and 33 minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/jHjfBs6njh

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 3, 2025

Even after it became clear that the Republicans had the votes to pass President Donald Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill, Jeffries continued to speak — turning what was already a stunt of epic proportions into an futile effort to filibuster the inevitable: his party had already lost.

Jeffries was an outspoken critic of the Senate filibuster when it was being used by Republicans — calling it a “Jim Crow relic” among other things — and his record-setting floor speech ultimately accomplished little more than reminding his critics of his own words, which they happily used against him.

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When Jeffries finally chucked it in after eight hours and 44 minutes, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stepped up for his bite at the apple, but to the great relief of everyone present, he used his Magic Minute to move things along relatively quickly — but he couldn’t resist a jab at Jeffries.

“You know, Ronald Reagan said one time that no speech should be longer than 20 minutes. And unlike the Democrat leader, I’m going to honor my colleague’s time and be a little more brief than that,” Johnson said to laughter and applause.

Speaker Mike Johnson: “You know, Ronald Reagan said one time that no speech should be longer than 20 minutes. And unlike the Democrat leader, I’m going to honor my colleague’s time and be a little more brief than that.” pic.twitter.com/6GroxviLQX

— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) July 3, 2025

He took another shot at Jeffries a short time later, adding, “It makes no difference whether our colleagues across the chamber speak for 25 minutes or 25 hours. They can’t change the truth. Today was about performance for some of them, but today for us is about results.”

.@SpeakerJohnson: “It makes no difference whether our colleagues across the chamber speak for 25 minutes or 25 hours. They can’t change the truth. Today was about performance for some of them, but today for us is about results.” pic.twitter.com/Ufxc6CVAna

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 3, 2025