House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries thundered from the floor last week that passing the reconciliation bill “may very well turn out to be the day that House Republicans lost control of the United States House of Representatives.”
It was just one of a few broadsides that Jeffries delivered during a 40-minute speech against the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Jeffries also shot back at Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) – the presiding officer – after he warned Jeffries to direct his remarks to the chair during floor debate. Jeffries accused Womack of unfairly singling him out and ignoring Republicans engaged in similar behavior.
None of this was unusually sharp for a heated congressional debate over the biggest bill of the 119th Congress. But it was still notable.
We asked Speaker Mike Johnson about it during a wide-ranging conversation after the vote. The speaker said he did not take umbrage at Jeffries’ remark. Johnson said of Jeffries, “he’s gotta say” that Republicans are going to lose the House over this vote.
Democrats are favored to take the majority in 2026, even though Johnson thinks that the GOP will pick up seats.
“Hakeem and I are actually good friends, as you know, and we talk offline, of course, and I have a, we have a lot of, I think, empathy for one another, because I understand his challenges, he understands mine, and he’s got to play a political role and all that,” Johnson told us.
Johnson said he and Jeffries have worked together to “keep the temperature as low as possible, because we’re already in times of high anxiety and anger and frustration.”
“Why don’t we do the best we can to try to model [Ronald] Reagan and Tip O’Neill kind of style. We’re in different parties, but it shouldn’t be personal. And we’ve always been able to maintain that.”
It’s difficult to see just how Johnson and Jeffries are keeping temperatures low. The House is as rough-and-tumble as it’s always been – if not more. But it’s good to know they are trying.
