U.S. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ superpower may be putting people to sleep, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur.
Kaptur “failed and failed and failed and failed to stay awake,” National Republican Congressional Committee National War Room Director Ben Petersen quipped in a post to X, alongside video of the congresswoman dozing off.
Kaptur’s nap came as Jeffries took to the U.S. House floor, rambling on for hours to stall a vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill, which the U.S. House passed on Thursday afternoon.
“Because he’s a boring moron that is grand standing and lying,” one user responded on X. “He’s actually convinced some Republicans to change their minds and voting for it. He’s a waste of time, and honestly, it only helps make more Republicans every time one of these idiots talk.”
Another responded, “This is what happens when you force politicians to work a full day,” adding, “LOL.”
A third said that “not doing anything for 40 years is exhausting,” taking aim at Kaptur’s longevity in Congress.
The NRCC dig at Kaptur, who served as an urban policy advisor during Democratic President Jimmy Carter’s one term in office, was hardly a surprise.
Kaptur, who has been in office for over 40 years, has been on the group’s target list. Picking off Kaptur’s district would turn Ohio, which has become reliably Republican in recent years, further to the right.
Republican insiders note that President Donald Trump won her district in 2024 by 25,000 votes. Kaptur won a hotly contested reelection last year in what Politico dubbed “one of the most closely contested House races.”
The NRCC previously launched an advertising campaign targeting Kaptur and Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Strong Sykes for voting against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act when the U.S. House first considered it.
Last month, while discussing efforts to bolster domestic production and reduce imports, the 22-term Democratic congresswoman from Northwest Ohio acknowledged her past failures.
“I just wish to say also that for 30 years I’ve been working to do this and have failed and failed and failed and failed, but for two little programs that they changed the name of over at [the United States Department of Agriculture],” Kaptur said at an Agricultural, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee markup.
Like everything in contemporary politics, positions on the One Big Beautiful Bill largely fall along party lines.
U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, said in a statement that the bill “gets us on a path toward a more successful, sustainable future.”
“If Democrats had succeeded in torpedoing this bill, the average Ohio household would see their taxes increase by $2,140,” Husted said in a statement. “Families who would have seen their child tax credit sliced by $1,000 will instead see it rise to $2,200."
He continued: “If Democrats had killed this bill, America’s military would be unable to modernize in response to urgent threats from adversaries like Iran, China and Russia,” Husted added. “Law enforcement would lack critical resources to take dangerous illegal criminals out of Ohio communities and off U.S. soil.”
U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, offered a similar sentiment.
“President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill fully delivers on Republican promises made on the campaign trail – from securing no taxes on tips, overtime, or auto loans, to expanding the child tax credit and eliminating ridiculous EV subsidies, to securing our southern border and funding border patrol, this legislation makes a historic investment in America’s future,” Moreno said in a statement. “It is the most consequential legislation of my lifetime, and it will spur record economic growth and usher in an era of American exceptionalism unlike we’ve ever seen before.”
