LGBTQ+, pro-democracy. I'm a gamer (TTRPGs, occasional video games), I love nature, I do some baking, and I'm mildly crafty (bad sewing, rough digital art, other random crafts). Also neurodivergent (ADHD). DMs are off.
![Grassroots organizer Isabel Rogers' closing speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. at USAID on February 2nd, 2025:
Alright everyone, how are we feeling? [cheering] Thank you so much for coming out tonight! My name is Isabel Rogers, I'm one of the grassroots organizers of this event and I just wanted to say we've heard some from incredibly accomplished people today, but as an average American who has worked on USAID programs I wanted to say that this is OUR time to use OUR voice to stand up for what we believe in!
I am talking to the American people right now: call your Senators, sign these petitions! Do not let democracy die!
We have several other protests going on this week! I hope to see you all there! There's one in front of the Department of Labor at 3:00 PM today, and if you have any more questions or want to know more about our organization, go to usaidstopwork.com. Thank you again and let me hear you say USAID! [speaker and crowd chanting repeatedly: USAID]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreidjkr243zpchx2n3bls7llo5lcdvhnq35p2olgpx55ysy7gx47x7a)
![Part one of Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
I'm Senator Ed Markey from Massachusetts and um, what's dangerous is that people who work for USAID are wearing masks to protect themselves from Musk. This is a dictatorship in the making! This is an attempt to take over USAID and then use that as the example to take over the EPA, and Medicaid, and Medicare.
Donald Trump, Elon Musk- Elon Musk makes unsafe cars and now he wants to create an unsafe world! And cutting the programs that are at the heart, at the heart of who we are as a nation. So, he said, Elon Musk said, over the weekend that he's gonna throw USAID into a wood chipper. What else is going into that wood chipper?
Healthcare, democracy, fighting for the rights of those who are most desperate around the world and sending a message that he is going to do the same for those who are most desperate in the United States of America itself!
This is an historic moment! This is the time when we have to stand up and to fight! To not stand on the sidelines! To have people by the millions! People by the millions are gonna have to stand up and protest!
When we come back here the next time, there should be hundreds of thousands and MILLIONS of people descending on Washington D.C.! We need to march for freedom! We need to march for democracy! We need to march for justice! Not just for people in our country, but all around the world!
We are- we are the moral force of the world! [Man in the crowd: Not anymore] We are, we are a democracy that people look up to [Woman in the crowd: We were!] that building, that, that, statue of freedom is the most famous building in the world! And there's a reason because in every village in the world, in every hut in the world, they know that the United States stands for freedom and liberty!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreic227v4qxafw7whumhf2ov36yzst4nfjpzmnfndnxrblrx3ztnz7y)
![Part one of former USAID member Chris Milligan's speech from the coverage of the 50501 protest in DC on February 2nd, 2025:
My name is Chris Milligan and I served my country for thirty-one years at USAID [cheering] like many of you. Thank you for coming today!
I hear that USAID is full of radical lunatics. [cheering] Radical because we believe in the power of America! [cheering] The power to change lives! We know that America is looked up to around the world as a city on a shining hi- as a shining city on a hill! Radical because we engage in the world with compassion! With American values! not only lifting millions out of poverty and oppression, but making America safer and making jobs back here at home.
Lunatic? Lunatic! Well we volunteer in war zones, [laughter] we are in the most dangerous and challenging places around the world! [someone in crowd: unarmed] Unarmed! Famines, disasters, military dictatorships! Without our families, without our friends, and at a cost. I'm reminded of that when I walk by our memorial wall which has too many names of Americans who have lost their lives serving their country: our colleagues.
Who would do this? Committed, patriotic, radical lunatics who put country first! [cheering] I proudly served as USAID's counselor in the first Trump administration and let me tell you something: we did incredible reforms! [woman in crowd: yes!] And we strengthened the workforce! What we're seeing now is quite different, so I ask, what's changed? [crowd: the people! Musk!]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreid2pk6gb2ue7y6rk5jqgxcxz45vn4uervp3oksmfvehkgupdxku3y)
![Part one of former USAID member Jeremy Konyndyk's speech from the coverage of the 50501 protest in DC on February 2nd, 2025:
My friends, I'm Jeremy Konyndyk. I am a former USAID official. [crowd cheering] I am proud to be here with all of you today. I am proud of the work that we have all done on behalf of the American people to better the world. I am here because I love USAID and I believe in the mission of USAID, but also because I love the Constitution and I believe in the Constitution. [cheering]
And we need to be clear that both of those are at risk. The attacks on USAID are attacks on the Constitution! If we are in a country where the richest man can decide that the richest country will no longer help some of the poorest people, we are in a very, very dire place! The attempts to kill USAID will kill people! They will kill people that America has committed to save! This will abandon people that America has committed to support! It will dramatically weaken our country's global influence, and it will empower and embolden our political rivals!
Among those who are openly cheering Musk's campaign against USAID are the Houthis in Yemen, are the former president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev! They do not have America's best interests at heart. They know that if USAID is taken off the board, their jobs get easier, America gets weaker and less safe!
I also want to address the people of USAID, you who have committed your careers and your lives to serving your country [cheering] to advance the welfare of the world. You deserve BETTER! What is happening is a brutal and a shameful betrayal of you who have served your country with bravery, with integrity, with dedication, and with honor!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreihgtva4pxb35poq4rsin64zfl4lixcmwwkspqj7c5tjc7kajjzyfe)
![Part one of Bama Athreya of USAID's speech from the coverage of the 50501 protest in DC on February 2nd, 2025:
Alright, hi everybody, my name is Bama Athreya, and until two weeks ago- [cheering; missed two words here] -I had the honor to serve as a deputy assistant administrator at USAID, [cheering] the greatest agency in the US Government! And I did have to get a top secret security clearance before I started working there, as I recall.
Now, I've been, like, following some of this stuff on social media that they've been saying about USAID lately and there are couple things I just don't get, like, some words that are getting thrown around like: radical. [man in crowd: No!] I, so I ju- I asked myself: why would people associate USAID with the word 'radical'? [crowd calls for her to speak louder, she adjusts the mic] And uh, I started thinking about the work that I had been working on, you know, with my team at USAID, and you know, we had a lot of work on children, youth, and families.
And so I think about like us and the stuff we did and like, we supported partners that would, actually you know, find orphans and children who'd been abandoned by their parents and place them with loving, caring families around the world. That's what we were doing. [cheering]
And then we kept working with those children, those families, to make sure that they had safe places to go to school and get an education. And then as they got a little older we gave them the confidence, the tools, and the skills through our programs to be able to get jobs or start small businesses if they wanted to and pay it forward, lift up others in their community through the work they were doing. That's what we did. [cheering]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreiakvi5ijy2srfjvbcinolxsnrr5om2i63w7emw656mwyzfeq3sbku)
![Vermont Senator Peter Welch's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
Let them work! Let them work! I'm Peter Welch from the mighty state of Vermont! [cheering] Alright, somebody's got to stop this lawless and cruel policy! Marco Rubio! He's the secretary of state [crowd booing]. He's got to take responsibility. Marco: let them work! Let them work!
And I just want to say one thing: all of us are waking up wondering how are we gonna get through this day? That's what we're wondering. Everyone can't believe what is happening to our great country, but, but we only have one decision to make. It's to get up and face the day or pull the covers over our heads and we are gonna face the day! We're gonna fight to protect our constitution! We're gonna fight to protect our brothers and sisters who are working on our behalf all over the world!
We are gonna face the day and if we have any time to be discouraged, think of the great Martin Luther King, who every day faced a day where death awaited! Where every day h faced a day where the forces were against him, but what he found was what love and community with the people who worked with him to fight for civil rights! We fought to end the Vietnam war, we are going to fight to protect our Constitution, and our democracy, and the dignity of people all over this world!
We are not gonna let Trump destroy our souls and our hearts! Let them work! [crowd chanting repeatedly: Let them work!] Thank you!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreidzp7vzena4ooiwixidnw6knlouqcqexkjngtvr5ium4fk4ytjas4)
![Part one of Doctor Atul Gawande's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
Here is what we need to do:
We need to make the people who are harmed seen! We need the pictures of the people who are being hurt today! They have names!
I met patients in Kenya whose life - a baby - whose life was saved because a midwife was taught how to save that baby's life and that baby does not have a midwife today. I met Poon Sao in Thailand who act, who walks the neighborhood as a community health worker, who is able to make sure that people in their community get medicines. There are organizations that have people who are doing this work. We have to show them!
Many of you know these people. What I ask is to be brave. Your own organizations are afraid of the attacks are coming their way! We will be the ones to stand up and show the people who are hurt! I am a surgeon. I am Atul Gawande, who has led global health at USAID [cheering] for the last three years until two weeks ago!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreig6j3fktu2mvlqik6ocxkpwh3zszli76ozbvge54cyoihgrylbyzq)
![Part one of New Jersey Senator Cory Booker's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
Ladies and gentleman, my name is Cory Booker [cheering and woman in crowd: We love you!] and it is time for us to fight! And let's be clear, let's be clear about how we can fight! The republicans won the White House, they won the House of Representatives, they won the United States Senate. They have majorities across congress, but we are not powerless! We have agency! And we all must join together and fight in these ways!
But the FIRST thing we cannot do is allow them to weaken us by us turning against each other! This must be a coalition that grows, and grows, and grows! There can be no bystanders in this fight! It is time that we understand: the only thing necessary for wrong to triumph is for right to do nothing! For right to be silent!
And to understand this, there are legislators walking through here, but these are the ways we're gonna fight:
First of all, in the United States Senate, we will not cooperate! [crowd cheering loudly] We are joining the leadership, we are joining the leadership already stated by Brian Schatz of Hawaii, that we will cooperate with no appointments when it comes to the State Department, no appointments when it comes to Foreign Policy. The first thing we're gonna do in the senate is not cooperate with the illegal and unconstitutional acts that they are trying to do!
The second thing we are going to do - and we met this morning, it is in the legal perspective - the second thing we are gonna do is we are gonna fight this legally in every way we can! [cheering] We will fight their violation of civil service laws! We will fight their violation of civil rights laws! We will fight their violations of separation of powers! We will fight their violations of our Constitution of the United States of America! We will not shut up, we will stand up, we will speak up, we will rise up!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreiesfrwaf2s2wg2u5c4hujtqvaz6foenvjdvdg5ylcjn6pr22th6da)
![Part one of Arizona Congressman Greg Stanton's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
I'm Greg Stanton, congressmember from Arizona. They are cheering in Beijing, and Moscow, and every corner of the globe where our adversaries have been [crowd chanting getting louder: What's your plan?] praying for the strength of American leaderhip- [chanting is too loud to hear the senator] -For more than sixty years, USAID has- [chanting too loud to hear] -under democratic administrations and under republican ones as well.
Congress has passed the budget across party lines providing robust funding for USAID and it has always had republican support before because it is a tool that advances American interests and protects American lives. It fights famine and drought, helps after natural disaster, and promotes economic stability to lessen global migration to our borders! And to the China hawks across the aisle: you know that this action- illegal action by Trump and Musk hurts our ability to compete with China's government and rogue initiative.
[man in crowd occasionally: No shit! What is your plan?]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreifdf2qssokegillqkjox33rti44iqmrgzhyjzl3jsxm2d562zwghy)
![Part one of Delaware Senator Chris Coons' speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
USAID saves lives, makes peace, protects our planet, stabilizes our world, does great work! Let's hear it for the men and women of USAID! [crowd cheering] I'm Senator Chris Coons I've been a senator fourteen years and I have seen the incredible work of local partners, of nonprofits, of USAID around the world!
From Kibera in Nairobi at St Mary's Clinic, handing out life saving medications, to Indonesia fighting to save a coral reef, to working with counter cartel human trafficking efforts in Mexico, to helping entrepreneurship in Malawi. Around the world, USAID for decades has advanced American interests and American values! And to mistreat the folks who have delivered this life saving support for so long is just plain wrong!
The difference that you have made, the difference that nonprofit partners like World Vision, and Catholic Relief Services, and Save the Children, and International Rescue Committee, and CARE have made makes America safer!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreih3yy5llzxhyfijqaeojculph2ow2szsohvwaa5j5cw5x54bgjhxu)
![Part one of Florida Congresswoman Lois Frankel's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
Well you can see I'm from Florida, I'm pretty cold, okay? [crowd laughing] Actually I'm Lois Frankel, let me see. Woah, okay, hey. You know, I ha- I had this speech, I'm not really much of a speech maker, but, I'm Lois Frankel, I'm from Florida and I am the lead democrat on the- [crowd: Louder!]
Okay, here we go. I said I'm not much of a speech maker so here, but, I'm Lois Frankel, I'm from Florida, I am the lead democrat on the house appropriations committee that funds foreign assistance. [cheering]
You know, I really think I could just read your signs, and that would be my speech, right? "Stop the freeze!" "When USA disappears, terrorists reappear!" "Defend Democracy!" "Stop the coup!"
Jason, uh, I wanna tell you, I am a mother first. My son was a United States marine. He went to Afghanistan, he went to Iraq. He was an artillery officer. [cheers] Thank you, but I wanna just tell you, when he came back, you know where he went next? USAID. [crowd cheering loudly]
And he would be the first one to tell you - just like some of Donald Trump's former generals - that when you are good neighbors and you spend money helping your neighbors, you spend less money on bullets. [cheering] I wanna- [man in crowd: Our generals!] Your generals! You're right, they were your generals.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreicchq3kwp57ylpyjpt5wyrr4kwqzz3zqihjg2aemwuymtyubngc4q)
![California Congresswoman Sara Jacobs' speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
Well hi everybody, I'm Congresswoman Sara Jacobs. I represent San Diego. And I'm also proud to serve as the ranking member on the subcommittee of Africa and global development. But most importantly, before I was in congress, I worked on international conflict resolution with many of you.
And it's clear to me that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have no idea how foreign aid works. And you know how I know this? Because I literally had to do a video teaching Nancy Mace why what USAID does prevents terrorism!
Let's be clear: this is bad for people! This is going to hurt people all over the world! This is going to hurt our national security! But probably most importantly, this is illegal! What Elon Musk is doing is illegal! Only an act of congress can eliminate USAID because congress is who created USAID! And that's why this week I'll be introducing legislation to push back on Elon Musk's illegal takeover of USAID!
[crowd chanting repeatedly: Lock him up! ]
And when I do, I need every single one of you on the phones to all of these republicans who for years have said they care about this and put them on the record! But let's be clear: this is illegal and it is a coup! It is a power grab meant to silence critics! And let's be clear: while USAID might be first, it is not going to be the last!
But joke's on them, because how knows better how to work in authoritarian country than all of you? So we are not going to sit back and take this, are we? [crowd: No!] We are not going to allow Elon to sentence millions of kids to poverty or death, are we? [crowd: No!] And we are not gonna let an unelected billionaire take over and destroy our country, are we? [crowd: No!]
Thank you all so much for everything you do! We are gonna keep fighting! We are gonna win this! Thank you again!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreicaofdxlma4dv6th3zkhkkeliatfz2jphlukjnqvr4lueihbn4wwe)
![Part one of Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus' speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
Thank you, Jason. I'm Dina Titus, I rep- [video issues] -be here today to speak out in favor of this wonderful Agency that does such terrific work- [video issues] -to Finland, you are on the front lines and all the countries in between. And the people you serve thank you too. They may not know you by name, they may not know you here, but they know their lives are made better by all the things that you do.
You have read the latest memos, calling people home, closing down offices... And what about the appointment of a person that stormed the capitol now saying he will send the marines if you don't come home? [crowd booing] Boo is right!
We just have to ask: have they gone mad? Have they gone mad? They seem to have forgotten that every dollar we spend on diplomacy keeps us from sending another soldier into harm's way! Keeps us from having to fight and finance another hot war! Keeps us at home where we are safe!
Have they just forgotten that? Are they just gonna abandon the Uyghurs and the women in Afghanistan? They don't seem to care. Are-are they not gonna pay the people that are guarding the terrorists in the Syrian prisons or keeping law and order in Haiti? They just don't seem to care. Do they not value the expertise and knowledge that you bring to the programs where you serve around the world and what a difference that makes? They just don't care. So the answer to the question is: Yes, they have gone mad! And that's why we have to be mad ourselves to stand up to them!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreiece6khzacqoip6en6fo5anzxdperrbkogbuxs6t6eodklfuonnsm)
![California Congresswoman Lateefah Simon's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
Good afternoon! My name is Lateefah Simon and I [crowd chanting] -California's twelfth congressional district, the most progressive district in these United States of America! [loud cheering] -after thirty years of organizing on the ground and one of the things that I know is that the republicans, they are losing when they attack our healers!
Our healers have been stranded all over the globe! USAID has kept the peace in the globe! And now we are going back- I wanna be clear- I wanna be clear that our democracy, and I hope you all agree with me, is on life support! In fact, it is in hospice!
I want us to be clear that as democrats who are coming here and standing in front of you, it is our duty to hold the line! It is our duty to act and not just talk! It is our duty to hold our votes! It is our duty to ensure that this administration doesn't take us back to an America in 1952! An Apartheid America! It is important that we hold the line to accuse these folks of the laws that they are breaking!
We are not colonizers! We are supposed to be a democracy that loves our neighbors! We are supposed to be a democracy that works to heal instead of kill!
I gotta tell you one last thing: the republican party claims to love a Jesus that loves its neighbor! Claims to love a God that blesses its people to heal the sick and to take care of the widow! To take care of the child with no mother, no father! We honestly must ask this party to reevaluate its own relationship with God! We will move forward!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreia6wsi5wselrnp72avupzbxllnvxt4fweezz6an2iiujhge4ycasa)
![Pennsylvania Congresswoman Madeleine Dean's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
Uh, I'm Madeleine Dean from suburban Philadelphia. I am honored to be in your company. I really appreciate all of you! Look what you have done to raise the visibility of the extraordinary good work of the selfless folks who work for USAID! Let's [crowd cheers loudly] -Thank you! Thank you for recognizing all these signs that say USAID saves lives! Lives are now at stake! Lives are now being lost as a result of this unlawful taking, this grotesque cruelty, of the Trump administration!
For those of you who said 'Do your job', that's exactly what we have to do! And that is exactly why we're standing here! [man calls 'Let's go!', crowd cheers loudly] -thanking USAID, I want to say thank you to you! Do not fatigue! These are not normal times! What is going on is corrupt, it is cruel, it is chaotic, it is lawless, it is unconstitutional, and that's the point!
Do not fall! Please stay with us! Bring more people to us and demand the same of our republican colleagues! [crowd cheering loudly] -stand up to this lawless administration! A president who swore an oath that he doesn't even understand! I don't think he even read it!
So stay with us, grow our numbers, bring larger crowds. We're gonna be doing this at every level! You saw, Education Department is next! This is intentional. They don't want an educated electorate! They want to sow fear and chaos so they can grab the power and the money to themselves.
Stay with us! Demand the republicans join us and speak out! Thank you!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreibgvzrwpxjjqk3nd6ulnc7x3v4f72mu4bdrkypg3c25upwrqfvyty)
![Part one of New York Congressman Gregory Meeks' speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
I'm Congressman Gregory Meeks from the state of New York and the [loud cheering]. And I'm here today first to say thank you to the hardworking men and women of USAID! They are heroes! They are [inaudible]! They are working Americans who have taken an oath not to a king, but to a country!
They are the people that put their families at risk to make sure that we are helping people around the world so that we can also stay safe here at home! They are people who are real patriots! They stand alongside our military and others to make sure that the world knows who we are as Americans and that we care!
They are the individuals who fight to make sure that when we are working collectively together, that we will get rid of HIV and AIDS with [inaudible]! They are the individuals that make sure that Polio that does not last and continue and go around the world! They are the ones that are fighting to make sure that Ebola is not in Africa, is not in the United States, or no place around the world!
They are the ones that are making sure that people eat and know how to grow farms and agriculture for families so that they can live and have a better resources! They are the ones that should be awarded and taken care of, and thought of, and not closing down 93 missions around the world! Because when we do that, who- who benefits? I'll tell you who benefits!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreie6uo3vedpjm3o5ksouwtfxhmdsti5qan53qhqtj7ps7edqrfrygm)
![Massachusetts Congressman Bill Keating's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
Bill Keating from Massachusetts, I wanna tell you this: For those of you that are here that are workers, [crowd chanting repeatedly: Do your job!] that have worked for the state department, that have worked for USAID, I want to thank you- thank you for your work! You're making our country strong! And I want to tell you, you are the patriots! [crowd chanting "do your job!" very loudly] You are the patriots! You, the people, are [inaudible] this country!
[inaudible] There's something else at stake here: That's the rule of law! Donald Trump is breaking the statutes, breaking the Constitution, and we're not gonna let him do it! You're not gonna let him do it! We must win as he floods the zone, we must stand up!
Thank you for being here! Let's keep- the fight is just beginning!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreiherei6qzbot47orvs6duo2ii4qtcauzwq3jur6fos5fmhyssfto4)
![Part one of Virginia Senator Tim Kaine's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
Okay, do you guys wanna hear what we're doing to stop this?
[crowd cheers loudly]
There's a litigation strategy, a state court strategy, a legislative strategy in congress, and a political strategy, alright? So let, let, let us start with the fact, let us start with the litigation strategy.
You have seen us succeed in numerous court cases in the last few days and we're gonna win a whole lot more court cases. There is a coordinated effort that we are all involved with. Five different kinds of lawsuits against this administration that we're very engaged in. And here are the five:
Suits to protect federal employees including USAID employees.
Suits to protect fundamental constitutional rights like Birthright Citizenship.
Suits to protect the power of the purse; monies allocated by congress cannot be stolen by a president they have to be used in the way they were allocated.
Suits to stop private parties from rampaging through federal agencies; private parties like Elon Trump- Elon Musk- I called him Elon Trump, I'm sorry, Freudian slip.
Finally, suits to stop mass deportation and unfair treatment of people based on where they are come from.
These are going on right now because of these members of congress and organizations around this country and Donald Trump is gonna get tired of us winning so many of these lawsuits. That's number one.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreie735vqccciucbglugdjcgtlzhyf32cl6qcijrkhn6c2ybm3euh3u)
![Part one of Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
Thank you Isabel, thank all of you for coming. I'm proud to represent the great state of Maryland in the United States Senate [crowd cheering loudly]. So first, let's give it up for Isabel and all the patriotic Americans who helped organize this rally.
And I want to hear it loud and clear: Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Elon Musk has got to go!
[Speaker and crowd repeat the chant several times.]
Because this is about taking back our country and doing it now!
Make no mistake, make no mistake about it. Elon Musk's effort to [video issue] is a gift to China, it's a gift to Russia, it's a gift to our adversaries around the world! Putin's cronies immediately put on X [video issue] -Musk, end quote. So this is not America First; this is America in Retreat, and we are not going to retreat from American values!
So it has nothing to do with Government Efficiency and everything to do with something that's gonna harm our national interests. In fact if you talk to American military leaders, they will tell you that AID is an essential and cost-effective part of our overall foreign policy and national security strategy because AID makes us safer here as we save lives around the world.
AID helps make us safer by providing greater stability in very combustible parts of the world. AID supports our values by helping democracy movements around the world. And AID fights disease around the world, which not only saves lives around the globe, but helps prevent them from spreading and killing Americans right here in the United States of America.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreic32de77k3hdjjnwdtf4q7x6h7fo3ir4q2dsop4xskqkxf43r4b7y)
![Part one of Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey's speech from the live coverage of the 50501 protest in Washington D.C. on February 2nd, 2025:
I'm Senator Ed Markey from Massachusetts and um, what's dangerous is that people who work for USAID are wearing masks to protect themselves from Musk. This is a dictatorship in the making! This is an attempt to take over USAID and then use that as the example to take over the EPA, and Medicaid, and Medicare.
Donald Trump, Elon Musk- Elon Musk makes unsafe cars and now he wants to create an unsafe world! And cutting the programs that are at the heart, at the heart of who we are as a nation. So, he said, Elon Musk said, over the weekend that he's gonna throw USAID into a wood chipper. What else is going into that wood chipper?
Healthcare, democracy, fighting for the rights of those who are most desperate around the world and sending a message that he is going to do the same for those who are most desperate in the United States of America itself!
This is an historic moment! This is the time when we have to stand up and to fight! To not stand on the sidelines! To have people by the millions! People by the millions are gonna have to stand up and protest!
When we come back here the next time, there should be hundreds of thousands and MILLIONS of people descending on Washington D.C.! We need to march for freedom! We need to march for democracy! We need to march for justice! Not just for people in our country, but all around the world!
We are- we are the moral force of the world! [Man in the crowd: Not anymore] We are, we are a democracy that people look up to [Woman in the crowd: We were!] that building, that, that, statue of freedom is the most famous building in the world! And there's a reason because in every village in the world, in every hut in the world, they know that the United States stands for freedom and liberty!](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6ug55xkcbs564w7naowu42tq/bafkreignby4ncbdbzih4ojnwloolujhwggh7m6jvy74jto3jmkptbyo2r4)
LGBTQ+, pro-democracy. I'm a gamer (TTRPGs, occasional video games), I love nature, I do some baking, and I'm mildly crafty (bad sewing, rough digital art, other random crafts). Also neurodivergent (ADHD). DMs are off.