Former President Obama is making efforts to stay relevant as he urged Americans to contact their representatives and insist that they oppose President Donald Trump’s megabill, with the House approaching a vote on the legislation.
“Over 16 million Americans face the risk of losing their health care due to the Republicans in Congress who are hastily attempting to pass a bill that would reduce federal funding for Medicaid and undermine the Affordable Care Act. Should the House approve this bill, it will raise costs and adversely affect working-class families for generations. Reach out to your representative today and urge them to vote against this bill,” Obama stated on X.
The leading Democrat in the House of Representatives has temporarily stalled the advancement of President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., commenced his address in the chamber just before 5 a.m. and seems prepared to continue for several more hours on Thursday.
A Republican lawmaker informed Fox News Digital that Jeffries was observed arriving with several binders, one of which he referenced for approximately three hours. If the remaining binders contain additional parts of his speech, the New York Democrat could potentially keep the House floor in recess until the afternoon.
He is able to maintain control of the House floor through a “magic minute,” a privilege afforded to party leaders in the chamber that permits them to speak indefinitely.
This development follows the House of Representatives’ vote to advance Trump’s $3.3 trillion ‘big, beautiful bill’ to its concluding phase in Congress, alleviating concerns of a possible Republican rebellion.
This marks a notable triumph for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., although the battle is far from over.
Lawmakers voted to move forward with discussions on the extensive Trump agenda bill in the early hours of Thursday – a process referred to as a “rule vote” – setting the stage for a final House-wide vote later on Thursday morning.
The House approved the rules for debate on the proposal in a dramatic 219 to 213 vote, with all but moderate Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., voting against it.
Next, a vote on the actual measure is anticipated, likely to occur on Thursday. However, the timing is primarily dependent on when Jeffries concludes his speech.
Republicans are advancing the bill through a method known as budget reconciliation, which generally allows the ruling party to completely disregard the minority.
Currently, delay tactics are the only tangible means of opposition available to Jeffries and his caucus, as they do not possess the authority to stop the bill’s progress.
Five House Republicans were poised to undermine the plan before members could even deliberate on the bill itself, resulting in a delay of several hours since Wednesday afternoon.
In the meantime, several hardline members of the House Freedom Caucus and their supporters appeared ready to abstain from the vote altogether in protest of the compromise package put forth by GOP leaders.
Nevertheless, both Trump and Johnson reportedly achieved some success during their lengthy negotiations with the holdouts.
However, hours may still elapse during the process. When the legislation initially passed the House by a narrow margin in late May, Democrats were able to employ various procedural votes to delay the final measure.
Late Tuesday morning, the Senate approved its version of the package, which increased the debt ceiling and modified the House’s provisions regarding Medicaid cost-sharing with states and certain tax initiatives.
Following the Senate’s passage of the law, Trump urged House Republicans to take similar action on Truth Social.
“It is no longer a ‘House Bill’ or a ‘Senate Bill’. It is everyone’s Bill. There is much to be proud of, and EVERYONE achieved a significant Policy WIN — But, the greatest beneficiary will be the American People, who will enjoy Permanently Lower Taxes, Higher Wages and Take Home Pay, Secure Borders, and a Stronger and More Powerful Military,” the president stated.
“We can attain all of this immediately, but only if the House GOP UNITES, disregards its occasional ‘GRANDSTANDERS (You know who you are!), and takes the appropriate action, which is to send this Bill to my desk. We
