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u.s. capitol
Medicaid Defenders in Wheelchairs Arrested Ahead of Senate Vote on 'Betrayal of a Bill'
"If you're zip-tying grandmas protesting losing healthcare maybe you're not the good guys in the story?" quipped one critic.
Jun 25, 2025
Dozens of peaceful protesters including people in wheelchairs were arrested inside a U.S. Senate building in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday while protesting Republicans' proposed cuts to Medicaid spending in the budget reconciliation package facing votes on Capitol Hill in the coming days.
The group Popular Democracy in Action said that "today, over 60 people were arrested in the Russell Senate Building Rotunda in a powerful act of nonviolent civil disobedience" against "cuts to essential social programs like Medicaid" and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Protesters were zip-tied and dragged from the building by police after demonstrators unfurled three large banners inside the rotunda with messages calling on lawmakers to protect Medicaid and other essential social programs. One of the banners read, "Senate Republicans Don't Kill Us, Save Medicaid."
If you’re zip-tying grandmas protesting losing health care maybe you’re not the good guys in the story?
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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) June 25, 2025 at 2:51 PM
The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act being pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump would slash federal Medicaid spending by billions of dollars, introduce work requirements for recipients, and impose other conditions that critics say would result in millions of vulnerable people losing their coverage in order to pay for a massive tax cut that would disproportionately benefit wealthy households and corporations.
"Nearly 80% of Americans support preserving and expanding Medicaid, yet this bill would do the opposite—slashing $880 billion from care to fund $4.5 trillion in tax breaks for billionaires," Popular Democracy in Action said in a statement. "Over 16 million people could lose coverage over the next decade if the proposed spending bill passes, and new work requirements threaten to strip lifesaving care from those who need it most."
Popular Democracy in Action said Wednesday's press conference, which preceded the civil disobedience, "underscored the urgent need for Congress to divest from endless wars abroad and invest in our communities at home. Participants have one clear message for Senators currently debating the bill: 'We need to kill this bill, before it kills us all.'"
"Nearly 80% of Americans support preserving and expanding Medicaid, yet this bill would do the opposite."
In addition to Popular Democracy in Action, groups including the Service Employees International Union, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), Debt Collective, Stand Up Alaska, Action NC, Arkansas Community Organizations, and American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) took part in Wednesday's protest, which followed similar past actions in defense of Medicaid.
"Yesterday was the three-year anniversary of the deadly, disastrous Dobbs decision that has literally put our lives on the line," PPFA president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said at the protest. "In this big, bad betrayal of a bill there is a provision to defund Planned Parenthood."
"Half of our patients rely on Medicaid to get access to care. What they would do, is put at risk a third of all of our health centers, and there's nowhere for our patients to go to be absorbed into the system," she continued. "That puts at risk access to contraception, breast exams, cancer exams, wellness exams, access to STI testing and treatment—just to give billionaires a tax break."
"And here's a kicker, for the 1 million patients who rely on that care, 90% of those health centers are in states with abortion access," McGill Johnson added. "So we need to call this what it is: a backdoor abortion ban."
Earlier in the day members of these groups were joined at a press conference by U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who condemned the GOP bill.
"I'm the point person for the Democrats in this fight—and it's the most important fight I've ever been in, because this battle this week is going to determine the future of American healthcare," said Wyden. "Are you for caviar or kids? Mar-a-Lago or the middle class? Hedge funds or healthcare? I know what side you're on—now we have got to make sure that a whole lot of Senate Republicans make the right choice too."
While it is uncertain how many—if any—upper chamber Republicans will oppose the bill, more than a dozen House GOP lawmakers claimed Tuesday that they would not back the Senate's version of the legislation due to Medicaid cuts.
Both chambers of Congress are scheduled to recess for the July 4th holiday next week. Trump is pushing lawmakers to vote on the package before the break. Under reconciliation rules, both chambers must pass identical versions of the legislation.
Most proponents of the bill are determined to pass it with the Medicaid cuts. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that "failure is not an option."
"I know a lot of us are hearing from people back home about Medicaid," McConnell noted. "But they'll get over it."
#WeWontGetOverLosingMedicaidRepublicans don’t GAF about us…📌 Today, Capitol Police are threatening to arrest people in wheelchairs.📌 Yesterday, McConnell said “failure is not an option” and this…
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— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) June 25, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Participants in Wednesday's protest vowed to keep battling to preserve Medicaid.
"The stuff we're fighting for, the kind of healthcare, long-term services, housing, well-paid work with paid days off and benefits—those are the things we've fought for for 50 years," said Mike Oxford of ADAPT. "We've been fighting for years... we're not backing down."
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'The Alternative to Democracy Is Dictatorship,' Warns Biden
"The guy who claims law and order stands for lawlessness and disorder," said the Democratic president in speech ahead of third anniversary of January 6 insurrection. "Trump's not concerned about your future, I promise you."
Jan 05, 2024
Noting that the violent insurrection that engulfed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 was "not the beginning of a fight and neither was it the end of a fight" for U.S. democracy, civil society leaders and progressive lawmakers on Friday marked the third anniversary of the attack Friday by outlining the threat posed by right-wing extremists and why former President Donald Trump must once again be defeated.
The event was held shortly before President Joe Biden gave his first major national address of 2024 near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, asking American voters whether democracy is still "America's sacred cause."
Three years after the insurrection, said Biden, that question "is what the 2024 election is all about.”
On Capitol Hill, joined by Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), advocates applauded the extent to which participants in the insurrection have been held to account, with more than 700 people convicted or pleading guilty to crimes ranging from misdemeanors such as trespassing and illegal picketing, to seditious conspiracy—a felony.
For his part, Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges related to his alleged criminal efforts to stop the peaceful transfer of power leading up to the attack, in which his supporters—some of them armed—marched to the Capitol and breached the building, sending U.S. House members into hiding when they had been assembled to certify Biden's election victory.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments soon regarding Trump's potential removal from 2024 election ballots, while a federal appeals court is scheduled next week to take up Trump's attempt to have his charged dismissed, based on his claim of presidential immunity.
"The good news is that our system of justice is working," said Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. "Donald Trump is in the midst of being held accountable for his crimes in the courts. The more stressful news is that it is 2024, so we are now less than a year out from the next presidential election. And reasonable people are justifiably worried about whether the will of the American people will actually prevail."
While the courts are gradually holding some people responsible for January 6 to account, those at the Capitol Hill press event pointed out how Republican lawmakers across the country followed the insurrection with efforts to make voting less accessible and spreading false conspiracy theories about nonexistent levels of election fraud.
Meanwhile, Biden emphasized in his speech, Trump has made clear in his campaign, which the former president opened with a video of the insurrection, that his "assault on democracy isn't just part of his past—it's what he’s promising for the future. He's been straightforward. He's not hiding the ball."
"The guy who claims law and order stands for lawlessness and disorder," he added. "Trump's not concerned about your future, I promise you. Trump is now promising a full scale campaign of revenge and retribution, his words, for some years to come."
The U.S. Justice Department said in August that more than a dozen people have been charged so far with sending death threats to election workers since the Biden administration opened a task force to confront such threats. In 2021, a Reuters analysis found that Trump supporters, inspired by the former president's "Big Lie" that the 2020 election was stolen, had sent threats to more than 100 poll workers.
"The Big Lie continues to this day," said Dustin Czarny, elections commissioner of the Onondaga County Board of Elections in New York, on Capitol Hill on Friday. "It resulted in decreased resources for Boards of Elections to do their job. I'm hopeful that we could see legislation in this next year in the states and in the federal government and resources directed, so that those boards of elections can do their job in a safe and accurate manner and deliver the voice of the American people to the ballot box and give them their choice in this election.”
Svante Myrick, president of People for the American Way, noted that advocates have "turned back hundreds of state [voter suppression] bills, but 56 of them have gotten through—12 in the last year alone have gotten through, pushed by far-right extremists to restrict people's right to vote."
"On January 6, I watched and it occurred to me that there are forces in this country that, left unchecked, could unravel everything that we've built," said Myrick at the press conference. "If we fight through this year, in 2024 we can keep safe everything we hold dear, because our democracy is not an abstract thing. Our democracy is the key to keeping us all safe."
Christina Harvey, executive director of Stand Up America, warned in a statement that a mass mobilization is needed to ensure Trump does not win a second term in 2024, which he is "desperately seeking... in the hopes of avoiding accountability for his crimes."
"If Trump is reelected, he and other MAGA Republicans are already plotting schemes to pardon themselves, exact revenge on their enemies, and further undermine our democracy, rather than focusing on the needs of everyday Americans," said Harvey. "The presidency isn't a 'get out of jail free' card, and over the next year, the Stand Up America community will be mobilizing to ensure that Trump is held accountable in the court of law and at the ballot box."
Part of the necessary work ahead of the 2024 election, said Gilbert, will be focused on pushing for the passage of far-reaching federal voting rights legislation.
"The truth of the matter is that in the three years since the insurrection, we actually have not done enough to protect our democracy," said Gilbert. "We need real concrete action to fix that. We need to adequately fund our elections, we need to protect our poll workers and election workers on the ground. We need to fight against mis- and disinformation, including the new threat of artificial intelligence generated as misinformation. We need to continue to hold accountable the perpetrators of the big lie... And of course we need to pass all of this as legislation."
"That comes in the form of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act," she said. "Together we can all make sure that we don't repeat these mistakes, and that we have a robust democracy that is blacked up by the confidence of the American people."
In his speech, Biden warned that Trump has again refused to commit to respecting the results of the 2024 election.
"America, as we began this election year, we must be clear: Democracy is on the ballot," said the president. "Your freedom is on the ballot. Yes, we’ll be voting on many issues and the freedom to vote and have your vote counted. The freedom of choice. Freedom to have a fair shot. A freedom from fear. We will debate, disagree. Without democracy, no progress is possible."
"Think about it," he added. "The alternative to democracy is dictatorship."
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Tlaib Denounces MTG Resolution Against Her as 'Deeply Islamophobic'
"I will not be bullied, I will not be dehumanized, and I will not be silenced."
Oct 26, 2023
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib hit back at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday after the Georgia Republican introduced an "unhinged" resolution to censure the Michigan Democrat—and only Palestinian American in Congress—for participating in a recent peaceful Capitol sit-in supporting a Gaza cease-fire.
Greene's
privileged resolution—which requires House consideration within two legislative days—seeks to censure Tlaib "for antisemitic activity, sympathizing with terrorist organizations, and leading an insurrection at the United States Capitol" on October 18.
That day, thousands of Jewish protesters and allies rallied in and outside the Capitol to demand members of Congress push for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, where Israeli forces have killed nearly 7,000 Palestinians, wounded over 17,000 more, destroyed or damaged nearly half of all homes, and displaced more than 1.4 million people.
"This type of Israel-hating, America-hating behavior from a sitting member of Congress is unacceptable and she does not represent anything America stands for," Greene said on Tuesday while introducing a separate motion to censure Tlaib. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.)—whose third-biggest campaign contributor during the 2022 election cycle was the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)—introduced his own censure motion against Tlaib earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Rep. Rebecca Balint (D-Vt.) moved Thursday to force a vote on her July motion to censure Greene "for her racist, homophobic, transphobic, antisemitic remarks, and unhinged conspiracy theories."
Since Tlaib chairs no committees, there would be consequences should Greene's resolution pass.
Earlier this week, Greene accused Tlaib and "the communist left" of seeking to "bring Jihad to America."
Tlaib, who was one of the speakers at the rally outside the Capitol, said in a statement that Greene's "unhinged resolution is deeply Islamophobic and attacks peaceful Jewish anti-war advocates."
"I am proud to stand in solidarity with Jewish peace advocates calling for a cease-fire and an end to the violence. I will not be bullied, I will not be dehumanized, and I will not be silenced," she continued. "I will continue to call for cease-fire, for the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid, for the release of hostages and those arbitrarily detained, and for every American to be brought home."
"I will continue to work for a just and lasting peace that upholds the human rights and dignity of all people, and ensures that no person, no child has to suffer or live in fear of violence," Tlaib added.
On Thursday, Tlaib, seven progressive Democratic colleagues—Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Cori Bush (Mo.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), André Carson (Ind.), Summer Lee (Pa.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.), and Al Green (D-Texas)—and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) voted against a bipartisan House resolution expressing unconditional support for the Israeli government.
The measure does not mention Israel's mass slaughter, displacement, deprivation, and terrorizing of Gazans.
Greene's resolution also baselessly claims that Tlaib "celebrated the Holocaust," a charge also leveled in a video shared by the far-right congresswoman. The short clip takes a quote by Tlaib—that she gets a "calming feeling" when she thinks of the Holocaust—wildly out of context. What Tlaib actually said was:
There's kind of a calming feeling I always tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors, Palestinians, who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways, have been wiped out... in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time, and I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right, in many ways.
The video also notes that Tlaib calls Israel an "apartheid" state—as do many Israelis and diaspora Jews, as well as human rights groups, experts, and world leaders.
Jewish Voice for Peace Action, the sister organization of Jewish Voice for Peace—which has led numerous protests across the U.S. during the war, including on October 18—weighed in against Greene's resolution Thursday.
"Believe it or not, a self-described 'Christian nationalist' who believes in 'Jewish space lasers' doesn't have the best interests of Jewish people at heart," JVP Action political director Beth Miller said in a statement.
"On October 18, over 500 Jews and allies sat on the floor of a congressional... office building in prayer and song to demand an immediate cease-fire to save Palestinian and Israeli lives, and to prevent an imminent genocide of Palestinians in Gaza by the Israeli government," she continued. "Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is one of the leading anti-war voices in Congress right now, and has the support of progressive Jews across the country."
"Clearly," added Miller, "Marjorie Taylor Greene is politically threatened by Palestinians and Jews coming together to work for peace and justice."
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