The "magic minute" speech is a procedure that grants members of House leadership unlimited time to speak after debate on a bill has concluded. For context, then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, spoke for more than eight hours in 2021 when the House passed President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries broke the record for the House’s longest “magic minute” floor speech Thursday, using his unlimited speaking privileges to drag House Republicans’ megabill vote hours past the intended schedule.