Congressman blake moore falls asleep

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a moment that quickly caught fire online, Congressman Blake Moore (R-Utah) was seen dozing off during a marathon House Ways and Means Committee session that stretched well into the early hours of Wednesday morning. The meeting, which ran more than 17 hours without interruption, was part of a grueling effort to assemble President Trump’s sprawling legislative agenda.

Moore, the Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, was briefly caught by C-SPAN cameras with his eyes closed and chin tilted downward, clearly nodding off during a stretch of deliberations. Sitting beside him, Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) gave him a light elbow nudge just before a scheduled vote. Moore appeared momentarily startled, then smiled, adjusted his glasses, and carried on with the proceedings.

The footage quickly spread across social media, where users wasted no time poking fun at the congressman. One TikTok clip with the caption “Even Congress is tired of Congress” racked up over 2 million views in under 12 hours. On X (formerly Twitter), users jokingly compared the late-night sessions to high school cram nights and college finals week.

While some critics seized the moment as a symbol of legislative fatigue and dysfunction, others were more sympathetic. “Honestly, if you haven’t fallen asleep at work at 3:30 a.m., you haven’t worked,” one user posted. “Let the man nap.”

Moore, 44, who has represented Utah’s 1st congressional district since 2021, hasn’t made a public comment on the sleepy moment. His office didn’t respond to requests for comment by Thursday morning.

Moore wasn’t the only lawmaker caught off-guard by the long night. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) were also seen nodding off during the same session. A photo of the two Democrats with their heads bowed and eyes closed also began circulating online.

Dingell, who has been in Congress since 2015, responded to the attention with a candid social media post. “I’ve been up for 31 hours fighting to protect Medicaid from brutal cuts. Sorry if I needed a second to rest,” she wrote. The post drew a wave of support from constituents and fellow lawmakers, who applauded her dedication under pressure.

The hearing itself was part of a broader Republican-led push to draft and push through what has been referred to as a “mega-bill” — a sweeping piece of legislation that bundles tax reform, Medicaid restructuring, border security funding, and energy policy changes. President Trump, now in his second term, has framed the effort as a cornerstone of his domestic agenda, calling it “big, bold, and beautiful” in a recent press conference.

But the path to passage is anything but straightforward. Deep rifts have emerged within the GOP, particularly over proposed cuts to Medicaid and disputes over the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. Several moderates in blue states have pushed back hard, warning that the bill could cost their districts billions in lost tax benefits.

That friction has led to intense closed-door negotiations, last-minute revisions, and committee sessions that stretch into the early morning. Lawmakers are under pressure to finalize the package in time for a vote before Independence Day — a deadline House leadership insists is still realistic, albeit ambitious.

Critics argue that the frantic pace and overnight hours are emblematic of a broken legislative process, one where critical policy decisions are hammered out when most of the country — and some lawmakers — are asleep.

Still, some see the recent late-night scenes as a badge of commitment. “Look, none of us are robots,” said Rep. Fischbach in an interview Thursday. “We’re all doing our best under a tough schedule. If you see someone nod off for a moment, it just means they’ve been working their tail off.”

As Congress barrels forward with one of the most consequential legislative efforts of the year, Moore’s brief nap may fade quickly into the background. But for one night — and one viral clip — the halls of Capitol Hill looked a lot more human than usual.