Congress
‘I don’t work for you’: Jeffries’ broadside against GOP megabill included testy exchange
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sketched out Democrats’ attacks on the Republican megabill before it passed early Thursday morning — and engaged in a brief testy exchange after he was admonished for his remarks.
Jeffries, who as a party leader is allowed to speak for an unlimited amount of time during debate, spoke for roughly 37 minutes starting around 5:30 a.m., calling the sprawling party-line legislation “an assault on the economy, an assault on health care, an assault on nutritional assistance, an assault on tax fairness and an assault on fiscal responsibility.”
In one fiery moment, the Republican presiding over the debate — Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas — told Jeffries to direct his comments to the chair rather than referring to Republicans as “you.”
Jeffries then suggested he was not being given the same treatment as Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who had just wrapped up his own extended speech.
“You know what’s interesting? Every time I come on this floor, I can use sharp language, [Scalise] can use sharp language, you choose to admonish me,” he added. “I don’t work for you, sir. I work for the American people.”
Womack again urged him to respect House “decorum”; Jeffries shot back that he’d add 15 minutes to his remarks every time he is interrupted.
Jeffries went on to frame the attacks that Democrats plan to make over the coming 18 months as they prepare for the 2026 midterms. He focused especially on cuts to funding for safety-net programs and shared stories of people who rely on these programs from Republican districts, some of which Democrats are hoping to flip next year.
“Children will get hurt. Women will get hurt. Older Americans who rely on Medicaid for nursing home care and for home care will get hurt. People with disabilities who rely on Medicaid to survive will get hurt. Hospitals in your districts will close. Nursing homes will shut down. And people will die,” he said. “That’s not hype. That’s not hyperbole. That’s not a hypothetical.”
“We’re here to say as House Democrats … if your representatives won’t fight for you, we will,” he continued.
That rhetoric stirred an angry response from Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who called the Democratic leader “pathetic” for “fear mongering” during his speech. Van Orden, whose district has been targeted by Democrats, referred to Jeffries — who is the first Black congressional party leader — with a crude reference to Barack Obama, the first Black president.
“Pretendabama is currently lying his ass off again,” Van Orden said in a post on X. “Fear mongering with our seniors, hungry children, veterans, and all Americans who are most in need.”
Jeffries in his remarks said Democrats would have the last word at the ballot box.
“This day may very well turn out to be the day that House Republicans lost control of the United States House of Representatives,” he said. “Because the American people are paying attention. They are smarter than you think, and they know when they are being hurt, they know when their interests are not being served, and they know when they have been lied to and deceived.”
The Senate is aiming to leave Washington for a five-week recess early Saturday after Republicans cut a deal with President Donald Trump to punt some of their priorities, including a framework for a party-line spending plan.
The Senate is trying to lock in an agreement that would set up votes on a college sports bill, a stopgap government funding bill, Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination and GOP voter ID legislation, according to a copy of an internal notice reviewed by Blue Light News.
The Senate would then leave Washington until mid-September.
Any one senator could object to the tentative deal, forcing it to be altered or dragging the Senate deeper into the weekend. Senators believe there are still objections to advancing the college sports bill. Democrats are also waiting to see if one of their own will prevent speeding up Blanche’s confirmation.
The breakthrough is a U-turn from earlier Friday evening, when Republican senators emerged from a closed-door meeting predicting they would have to spend Saturday trying to break a stalemate within the party about how to wrap final votes before recess.
Shortly after that meeting, Trump spoke by phone with Senate Republicans including Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah about the path forward for the GOP’s lengthy to-do list.
During the call, according to Johnson, Trump agreed to punt a vote on a budget blueprint for a third party-line spending bill until later in the year. Lee, who has been pushing for action on the separate SAVE America Act, also agreed to drop his demand for a formal, roll call vote on adjourning given the understanding with the president.
“I think the conclusion of the conference – and we had a discussion with the president and he agrees – [is] don’t take the vote tonight,” Johnson said after the meeting in Thune’s office.
Republicans were in talks with the White House throughout Friday. A White House official granted anonymity said Friday evening that “we’re continuing to have productive conversations with senators to advance several legislative priorities.”
Senate Republicans confirmed dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees Friday, just before they leave for a five-week congressional recess.
Senators voted 51-47 to approve officials at the Departments of Defense, Energy, State and other agencies.
They included David Cummins to head the Transportation Security Administration, Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Hal Duncan to be OMB deputy director and Francis Brooke to be Treasury deputy secretary. Among the group were several ambassadors, including former Rep. David Brat to be ambassador to Australia.
Senate Republicans changed the chamber’s rules last year to be able to confirm lower-level nominees as a package instead of having to hold a vote on each.
After finishing the expedited procedure Friday, Senate Republicans estimate they will only have a small number of civilian nominees awaiting confirmation.
President Donald Trump said voters may seek to punish Republicans — but not him — in the November midterm elections, as GOP lawmakers sweat that affordability concerns and the war in Iran could mean Democrats flip the House and perhaps even the Senate.
“They’re angry at Republicans,” Trump said in an interview with Punchbowl News that aired Friday. “But they’re not angry at me. They’re not angry at me, but they are angry at Republicans.”
The GOP faces the prospect of heavy losses this November, as gas and grocery prices remain stubbornly high due in part to the White House’s five-month-long war in Iran. The administration’s guidance on campaign trail messaging has been “tone deaf,” House Republicans fear.
Meanwhile, the president’s approval rating has tumbled since he returned to the Oval Office last year, and even his biggest supporters have grown frustrated over his Middle East war.
And with a messy, jam-packed slate of primaries now all but in the rearview mirror, Democrats are determined to go on offense. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has 58 seats on its midterm target map that stretches into redder territory — while still facing an uphill climb to take the Senate.
Trump has a massive war chest at his disposal. His MAGA Inc. super PAC reached $400 million in June. The president told Punchbowl he plans to use it to “help Republicans,” but he stressed that he faces no pressure in this campaign cycle.
“I said to somebody, ‘Wait a minute, you don’t understand, I won,’” Trump said, referencing his 2024 presidential election victory. “I’m not campaigning.”
The biggest issue for Republicans this year? That Trump himself is not on the ballot, he said.
“If I don’t run, will those people go out and vote? And that’s the one thing I can’t tell, I’m going to ask them to,” he said.
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