Hi there,

The job of a journalist is to go to where the silence is — especially when those in power seek to silence voices that question or challenge power. That is what we do at Democracy Now! day in and day out, and we're able to do it because of financial support from people like you — people who trust and depend on our independent reporting. If you believe that freedom of speech and freedom of the press are essential to the functioning of a democratic society, please donate today. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much.

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Democrats Hold Sit-in on Capitol over Budget That Seeks to Cut Billions for Poor and Working People

HeadlineApr 29, 2025

Democratic leaders led a 12-hour sit-in protest on the Capitol steps Sunday as lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C., to take up a budget for the 2026 fiscal year. The New York Times reports the White House is proposing a budget that would cut billions of dollars from programs that support child care, health research, education, housing assistance, community development and the elderly.

Meanwhile, three civil rights leaders were arrested on Monday as they held prayers inside the Capitol Rotunda to protest against the Republican-led budget bill. Among them was Rev. William J. Barber, president of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign.

Bishop William Barber II: “How many of you believe, even more than you did when you came here, that this budget is a moral issue?

Crowd: “Yes.”

Bishop William Barber II: “And that this current budget is — say this with me if you believe it — it is morally indefensible.”

Crowd: “Morally indefensible.

Bishop William Barber II: “It’s constitutionally inconsistent.”

Crowd: “Constitutionally inconsistent.”

Bishop William Barber II: “And it’s economically insane.”

Crowd: “Economically insane.”

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top