Yolo County U.S. Congressional Representative Mike Thompson spoke to a crowd of thousands outside of the Yolo County Municipal Courthouse during the “NO KINGS” rally on Saturday, one of over 1,800 taking place across the nation to object action taken by the current presidential administration.

The “NO KINGS” march and rally in downtown Woodland kicked off at around 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 14, and was hosted as a collaboration between Indivisible Yolo and Sister District Yolo. This march is one of thousands of “NO KINGS” marches happening across the country to protest Donald Trump and his administration, as well as to coincide with the military parade in Washington, D.C., taking place at the same time.

Participants gathered at the new courthouse, located at 1000 E. Main St. in downtown Woodland, and marched along a route to the old historic courthouse, situated at 725 Court St., for a rally that included activities, speakers, and entertainment, such as live music.

Elected officials, including Thompson, participated in the protests on Saturday, sharing their thoughts on the current state of the United States’ political climate.

Thompson used his speech to address actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration in the months following his inauguration on Jan. 20. Some of the actions Thompson, and the thousands gathered in the lawn of the municipal courthouse, have criticized include the layoffs of tens of thousands of federal employees, mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, the over $45 million military parade and more.

According to Thompson, who is an Army veteran himself, there are other methods Trump could’ve utilized to honor the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday besides a parade.

“If this president really wants to celebrate 250 years of the United States Army, if he is really an advocate and a champion for veterans — which he’s not — there are other things he could do, other things he could spend $45 million on,” he explained. “He could stop by stopping deploying the military to our city streets in the United States of America. He could use some of that $45 million to provide child care to military families. He could rehire the 6,000 veterans that he’s fired from federal service.”

The Yolo County congressman also touched on the proposed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a policy he and others argue will have disastrous impacts on the most vulnerable in the United States.

This tax and spending bill narrowly passed in the House of Representatives and now faces challenges in the Senate. The bill includes extended tax cuts, adds requirements for federal benefits eligibility, and implements an increase to the national debt ceiling.

One of the more controversial measures in the bill includes tighter rules and new conditions for Medicaid, the federal healthcare program that supports millions of low-income individuals, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

Among the proposed changes is the introduction of work requirements for non-disabled adults without children. Starting in December 2026, these individuals would need to work a minimum of 80 hours each month to remain eligible.

“His big, gross, ugly bill takes healthcare away from 16 million Americans, it’ll close hospitals, it’ll close clinics,” Thompson said. “People will die because of what he’s doing.”

Thompson told members of Saturday’s crowd to continue to show up and show out at events like the “NO KINGS” rally — by making your voice heard, he says, the first steps of change have already taken place.

“Thank you for standing up, thank you for speaking out, and thank you for being here,” Thompson told rally attendees. “It has never been as important as it is now — our country, our democracy and the people of our great country are counting on all of us.”