Race Against Time: How Congress Barely Made July 4 Deadline On 'big, Beautiful Bill'

Football and hoops coaches are experts successful timepiece management.

So are lawmakers.

Coaches are adept astatine either burning aliases redeeming conscionable capable clip connected nan timepiece to execute a play – aliases forestall nan different squad from doing so.

Congressional timepiece guidance is very different.

TRUMP $3.3T MEGABILL SETS HOUSE RECORD FOR LONGEST VOTE IN HISTORY

Whatever lawmakers opportunity they will do – it will ever return them a profoundly longer play of clip successful which to do it.

That’s why nan temporal authorities of passing President Donald Trump’s "big, beautiful bill" overwhelmed everyone who useful connected Capitol Hill complete nan past fewer weeks.

That ranges from nan lawmakers themselves to nan aides, journalists, Capitol custodians and U.S. Capitol Police officers.

To wit:

Congressional Republicans person churned done variations of frameworks and iterations of nan big, beautiful measure since February. But things yet sewage superior erstwhile nan House adopted its general type of nan package connected May 22, beating nan Memorial Day extremity by 4 days.

There was chatter that nan Senate would tackle nan House’s package nan week of June 9. Then that fell to nan week of June 15. The thought was that nan Senate would process its type of nan measure that week and past let nan House to sync up during nan week of June 22.

Then those hopes were dashed.

That’s to opportunity thing of nan Senate astatine slightest voting to proceed to moreover commencement statement astatine nan very extremity of nan week of June 15.

Here’s what really happened. And it underscores conscionable really prolonged nan process tin beryllium connected Capitol Hill, particularly pinch a very analyzable and arguable portion of legislation.

On Monday, June 23, Republican senators talked astir taking a procedural ballot to motorboat statement connected nan big, beautiful measure arsenic early arsenic Wednesday aliases Thursday, June 25 aliases 26. Such a ballot would require conscionable 51 yeas. But nan measure wasn’t ready. Republicans were still crafting and drafting nan measure to comport pinch Senate fund rules. The GOP besides aimed to constitute nan authorities successful a manner to tribunal 51 yeas to ace nan procedural hurdle and formally commencement debate. 

Midweek came and nan Senate ne'er took a procedural vote. Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., opposed starting statement connected a measure that was not complete.

So midweek shape-shifted into nan weekend, and erstwhile nan Senate convened connected Saturday, June 28, Fox News was told nan enclosure would return a procedural ballot to statesman debate around 4 p.m. ET.

SENATE REPUBLICANS RAM TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' THROUGH KEY TEST VOTE

Well, you guessed it.

The Senate did not trigger that vote until 7:31 p.m. Saturday. And nan 15-minute ballot turned into a three-hour and 38-minute affair. The Senate closed nan vote at 11:09 p.m.

Saturday – pinch Vice President JD Vance adjacent successful lawsuit his services were basal to break a tie.

They were not.

At slightest not connected nan dais.

But Vance played a pivotal domiciled successful negotiating pinch Johnson, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and others to greenlight nan Senate starting connected nan bill.

However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., past compelled Senate clerks to publication nan full 940-page measure retired large from nan dais. That endeavor consumed conscionable nether 16 hours of level time. The clerks – their voices cracking and hoarse – concluded a fewer minutes after 3 p.m. connected Sunday. This marked nan first clip a legislator required nan clerks to verbally publication a measure earlier nan Senate since 2021.

So, erstwhile nan clerks concluded their oratory, it was believed that nan Senate mightiness spell each nighttime pinch its marathon voting convention – known arsenic a "vote-a-rama" – and effort to decorativeness nan measure sometime by dawn Monday.

But this is Congress time.

Senators didn’t moreover statesman nan vote-a-rama until 9:40 americium Monday. Twelve hours later, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., suggested it was clip to "start figuring out" a last group of amendments that were basal to reason nan bill. 

Some groaned astatine that notion. One legislator told Fox News that 12 hours later was a small precocious successful nan crippled to "start figuring out" thing of that magnitude.

The Senate past toiled passim the night Monday and into Tuesday. Thune and nan GOP activity yet trim a woody pinch Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, connected agrarian hospitals to marshal her vote. The Senate approved nan measure late Tuesday morning after an all-night session. Vance was backmost to break nan necktie successful what is called a "Van Halen" vote. The tally was 50-50 since 3 GOP senators defected. But Vance’s ballot successful favour made nan rotation telephone "51-50." 

For those who are uninitiated successful nan Van Halen discography, "5150" was Van Halen’s first medium pinch caller lead vocalist Sammy Hagar, supplanting David Lee Roth. It went to No. 1 connected nan Billboard charts. 

Then, it was connected to nan House.

HOUSE ADVANCES TRUMP'S MASSIVE AGENDA BILL AFTER FREEDOM CAUCUS CAVES

The House Rules Committee serves arsenic a gateway for authorities to caput to nan floor. It convened a gathering early Tuesday afternoon. The Senate would soon nonstop its revamped type of nan big, beautiful measure crossed nan Capitol Dome for nan House to align. The Rules Committee past proceeded to meet until astir 1 a.m. Wednesday, prepping nan measure for nan floor.

That meant nan House could ballot by late Wednesday afternoon.

But location was a problem.

House GOP leaders discovered what they termed a "technical error" successful nan rule. The full House must first o.k. nan norm earlier debating authorities connected nan floor. So nan House needed to ballot connected nan hole first. That ballot started early Wednesday afternoon – and continued for different 7 hours and 31 minutes. That established a grounds for nan longest rotation telephone ballot successful House history, topping a ballot of 7 hours and 21 minutes successful 2021.

Some Republicans weren’t astatine nan Capitol. But they held nan ballot unfastened to bargain clip to activity connected skeptical GOP members who whitethorn beryllium holdouts.

And around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., decided to double-dog situation anyone who was against nan measure to put their voting paper wherever their rima was. Republican leaders closed nan "technical correction" ballot and proceeded to a ballot connected nan "rule." If nan House adopted nan rule, it could formally statement nan bill. The House was stuck if its members grounded to o.k. nan rule.

The tally committee down nan dais successful nan House enclosure populated comparatively quickly. All 216 Democrats said nary There were besides 4 GOP nary votes – and respective who refused to ballot yes. Republicans could only suffer 3 votes and still walk nan rule. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was a yes connected nan norm – moreover though he opposed nan bill. He past switched to nary arsenic nan ballot dragged on. However, Massie yet supported nan norm successful nan end.

HAKEEM JEFFRIES BREAKS KEVIN MCCARTHY RECORD WHILE STALLING TRUMP'S 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'

Reps. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., Keith Self, R-Texas, Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., were nary votes passim nan vote. But around 1 a.m., location was movement. The holdouts and immoderate of those who voted nary met pinch Johnson and different GOP leaders. That seemed to pry loose nan votes of nan holdouts and opponents – isolated from Fitzpatrick. 

But location was a problem.

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa. – who had not voted – drove location to Pennsylvania. So everyone astatine nan Capitol patiently waited for Perry to return. He did around 3:30 a.m. Thursday. Everyone but Fitzpatrick voted arsenic a bloc successful favour of nan rule. The House had nan votes to statesman statement connected nan rule.

It looked arsenic though nan House mightiness ballot astir daybreak connected nan existent measure itself.

But nan agency of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., had told Fox News connected Wednesday that Jeffries intended to speak for an hr aliases truthful astatine nan extremity of debate. There’s a civilization successful nan House wherever apical leaders of some parties are yielded "a minute" to speak connected nan floor. But this is simply a "magic minute." As a courtesy to those leaders, they speak arsenic agelong arsenic they want.

Jeffries began speaking conscionable before 5 a.m. Thursday – and yet concluded 8 hours and 45 minutes later conscionable after 1:30 p.m. ET Thursday. Jeffries shattered nan people of 8 hours and 32 minutes established by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., successful 2021. McCarthy group nan grounds arsenic number leader. 

So those House members hoping to hop an early greeting formation and get location for July 4 would person to wait.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Mike Johnson didn’t speak astir arsenic agelong arsenic Jeffries. But he did observe that nan precocious President Ronald Reagan erstwhile said that nary reside should tally longer than 20 minutes.

Johnson said for 23 minutes.

And past nan House voted, yet passing nan measure 218-214 at 2:31 p.m. Thursday. Fitzpatrick and Massie were nan only GOP noes.

It is said that we ne'er person capable clip successful life. And if you activity connected Capitol Hill, you’ll astir apt person moreover little acknowledgment to legislature timepiece management.