NEW: Johnson Muscles Prelim Vote on Reconciliation Bill, Tees Up Victory

A win is a win, even if you have to drag your entire team across the goal line to get it. Or in this case, drag them to the one-yard line while Hakeem Jeffries takes several more hours in the replay booth. 

Late last night, Speaker Mike Johnson finally got the result he wanted after holding open a rules vote on the Big Beautiful Bill, AKA the version of it that passed the Senate under reconciliation rules. The vote finally ended a few hours ago, when Johnson managed to eke out a majority:

Republicans in the House of Representatives advanced Trump’s massive tax-cut and spending bill toward a final yes-or-no vote early Thursday morning, appearing to overcome internal party divisions over its cost.

Following a day of closed-door meetings both on Capitol Hill and at the White House, lawmakers cleared a final procedural hurdle needed to begin debate on the bill in a 219-213 vote around 3:30 a.m. (0730 GMT).

Lawmakers then reopened debate for a final vote that was expected around 5:30 a.m.

Well, it might have been expected then, but House Minority Leader Jeffries took advantage of what’s known as the “magic minute.” This is a House custom by which the Speaker and Minority Leader are exempted from normal House time limits by dint of their leadership positions. The “magic minute” is akin to a Senate filibuster, but as best as I recall, it’s never actually worked to block legislation. It’s more like a magic venting, and “magic” only in that House floor time disappears. It will reappear only when Jeffries is darned good and ready. 

As of this moment, he’s still speaking, claiming to read into the record every complaint he’s received from people about the cuts to programs within the bill:

“I feel the obligation Mr. Speaker to stand on this house floor and take my sweet time to tell the stories of the American people, and that is exactly what I intend to do. Take my sweet time,” Jeffries said.

“On behalf of every single American, I am on this House floor after 6 a.m. and I am planning to take my sweet time,” he added.

What does “sweet time” mean in practical terms? Kevin McCarthy once transformed his “magic minute” into more than eight hours on the floor, speaking against Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, Reuters points out. He didn’t get anywhere near the laudatory media coverage that Jeffries will likely get for this stunt, either, but that’s another story. 

So what’s next? I mean, after Jeffries runs out of oxygen or runs low on blood sugar?

Next up will be the floor vote on final passage. One presumes that the House Republicans who finally flipped their votes to yes on the rule will just get this over with and give Johnson the majority vote he needs. That is still just a presumption, however; they could have voted for the rule but still want to vote against final passage, I suppose, even if it’s pointless now. If that happens, Johnson will just repeat yesterday’s strategy and hold the vote open until he gets the necessary 217 votes, or more.

Assuming that happens sometime today, the bill will get transmitted to Donald Trump for his signature in time for his July 4 target. At that point, the focus on Capitol Hill will shift to the budget negotiations for FY2026, and the particulars of this bill will be largely forgotten in the appropriations fights to come. Like most football games, the only real specific memory will be the W. Or the L, if Johnson can’t get the ball across the goal line in this vote. 

If he does, though, Johnson really does deserve mention as one of the most effective House Speakers in recent memory, given the narrow majorities and fractious factions that he has had to manage. Thus far, he keeps finding ways to win, and even if that’s just inside-the-Beltway stuff, it’s still impressive.