Sleep-Deprived Lawmakers Stay Up All Night to Pass the ‘Big, Beautiful' Bill

New York Times

22-05-2025

As they arrived at the Capitol not long after dawn on Thursday to vote on a sweeping domestic policy bill to deliver President Trump's agenda, members of the House of Representatives were divided by more than just partisan lines.
The far more visible split was among those who had managed to get some sleep and those who hadn't.
'Here come the troops,' Representative Glenn Thompson, Republican of Pennsylvania, said cheerfully as he welcomed a bleary-eyed procession of lawmakers to the marble corridors just after 6 a.m.
'Clock in on your left,' he added with a smile, gesturing toward the House chamber, where members would soon cast their votes on the wide-ranging bill overhauling key government programs.
Many arrived clutching coffee cups or cans of energy drinks, struggling to stay alert after a week's worth of all-night committee sessions capped off by an overnight floor debate that unfolded as House Republican leaders raced to deliver Mr. Trump a major victory on what he calls the 'big, beautiful bill' before a self-imposed Memorial Day deadline.
As party leaders delivered their final remarks, some lawmakers stood at attention, clapping and cheering the concluding arguments for and against the bill. Others slumped in peripheral seats or disappeared into the far corners of the chamber, barely awake and struggling to stay that way until the final vote.
In a room near the floor, Republican leaders had laid out provisions — not the legislative kind — that would have to suffice for breakfast: dozens of boxes of pizza and a polished silver bowl of fruit snacks, pretzels and chips.
In the chamber, one Republican lawmaker, seated off to the side, wore a single AirPod, his phone screen showing highlights from Game One of the Eastern Conference matchup between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. The Knicks had lost in overtime. His feelings on the outcome were unclear as he remained stoic, concealing from anyone nearby that his attention was elsewhere.
Across the way, two Democratic lawmakers huddled under a shared blanket, fighting off exhaustion and an unseasonably cold and rainy morning.
Even Speaker Mike Johnson sipped from a can of Celsius energy drink before delivering his final remarks and opening the vote.
Though Congress is frequently criticized for its aging members, two octogenarians displayed remarkable stamina. Near the front of the chamber sat Representative Danny K. Davis, the 83-year-old Democrat from Illinois, offering enthusiastic support to Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader who delivered the final remarks castigating the Republican-led bill. (Mr. Davis was seated just behind a chair draped in black cloth to honor Representative Gerald E. Connolly, who had died the day before at 75.)
The most formidable show of endurance came from Representative Virginia Foxx, 81. The North Carolina Republican and chairwoman of the powerful Rules Committee, who presided over more than 22 hours of deliberations beginning at 1 a.m. on Wednesday, was dubbed 'the Iron Lady' by Mr. Johnson. Even after the bill's passage, her brisk pace remained undiminished. When asked about her plans for the upcoming recess, she forcefully replied, 'I'm going home!'
Of the two Republican lawmakers who missed the vote, one blamed exhaustion. Representative Andrew Garbarino of New York, a politically vulnerable lawmaker from a competitive district who had previously suggested he might oppose the measure, never turned up. His staff later said he had nodded off, a relatable turn of events — but also a politically convenient one that would deprive Democrats of the opportunity to attack him for voting for a bill that would cut Medicaid and roll back clean energy tax credits that provide jobs for his constituents.
'I'm going to just strangle him,' Mr. Johnson joked afterward. The speaker said he had assurances that Mr. Garbarino would have voted in favor of the measure despite his previous concerns. In the end, there was no need to rouse him; the bill passed by a single vote.
For those who did make it to the floor, there was a sense of celebration after the legislation passed.
'I tried to play 'We Are the Champions,'' Representative Daniel Crenshaw of Texas told Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the majority leader, after the vote, the morning cigarette Mr. Crenshaw had just finished announcing itself to all in proximity. 'But I couldn't get the Bluetooth speaker to connect.'
Mr. Scalise first appeared confused, then visibly relieved.