Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters
Maxine Moore WatersAmericans need a 'stake' in our union Maxine Waters demands answers from Mnuchin, Tillerson for inactivity on Russia sanctions Maxine Waters: There should be a disclaimer when Trump appears on TV MORE (Calif.) praised House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro PelosiGOP lawmaker: Dems not standing for Trump is 'un-American' Rep. Gutiérrez: 'Complete betrayal' if Pelosi backs budget caps deal without DACA Senate leaders say they're zeroing in on two-year budget deal MORE (D-Calif.) after her eight-hour speech on the House floor in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients Wednesday.
In comments to reporters published by the Washington Examiner, the California Democrat said that Pelosi's marathon speech borne using a House procedure called the "leadership minute" was one of the most profound in the history of Congress.
"We've had the opportunity to yield time to Leader Pelosi, and while she certainly came in to oppose this bill that we have before us, having yielded one minute to the leader is the most profound one minute probably in the history of this institution," Waters said.
Pelosi's use of the "leadership minute" delayed a vote on the Mortgage Choice Act in protest of Republican plans to vote on a budget without guaranteeing a vote to restore legislative protection to DACA recipients, who face a March 5 deadline for deportation protections to start ending.
President Trump
Donald John TrumpTillerson: Russia already looking to interfere in 2018 midterms Dems pick up deep-red legislative seat in Missouri Speier on Trump's desire for military parade: 'We have a Napoleon in the making' MORE announced last year that he would allow the Obama-era program to expire, throwing millions of undocumented immigrants into potential risk of deportation.
"That one minute that ended up eight hours where Leader Pelosi talked about the plight of DACA and the Dreamers," Waters said Wednesday.
"And I'm very proud in that yielding that one minute we had the opportunity to listen to Leader Pelosi deal with an issue and demand that we have an opportunity to have a real debate and a real discussion in the People's House," she added.
Pelosi spoke for eight hours in front of Congress in what became the longest speech before the House on record, breaking the previous record set by House Speaker Champ Clark (D-Mo.) in 1909.
"Our Dreamers hang in limbo, with a cruel cloud of fear and uncertainty above them. The Republican moral cowardice must end," she said Wednesday, using a term commonly used to refer to immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, some of whom are protected under DACA.
"I'm going to go on as long as my leadership minute allows," she added.