Herbert,

One hundred minutes.

That’s how long President Trump spent at the podium Tuesday night, doubling down on his dangerous policies and justifying them with lies. He literally set the record for the longest address to a joint session of Congress – yet he spent just two of those minutes addressing the real kitchen table issues affecting working families.

While some of my colleagues opted to skip the spectacle, I attended with my constituent, Katie Stahl, as a special guest. Katie is a classic DOGE victim, unceremoniously let go last month from her job as a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where she was on probationary status because she received a promotion. She was terminated for being good at her job.

I wanted President Trump to look out at the House gallery and see the Americans he has hurt. As Katie put it, federal workers aren’t data points. They are real people with real families to support. They deserve to be seen and heard.

I’ll never set a record for speech length. But I will continue to give voice to our dedicated civil servants and every American who benefits from the services they provide.