The Middle

Wall of Fame

Documented acts of political bravery, on the record.

An empty Senate-style chamber with a wooden gavel and balanced red and blue legislative folders in the foreground
Wall of Fame

John Thune Held the Line Against Trump’s Filibuster Demand

John Thune — Senate Majority Leader

When President Donald Trump demanded that Senate Republicans cancel their August recess or abolish the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, Majority Leader John Thune defended the Senate’s rules and acknowledged the votes were not there.

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AI-generated illustration: a lone vintage microphone at an empty Senate lectern in warm morning light
Wall of Fame

The senator who stood up to her own party first

Sen. Margaret Chase Smith — U.S. Senator, Maine (1949–1973)

In 1950, freshman senator Margaret Chase Smith denounced McCarthyism on the Senate floor while most of her party stayed silent. It cost her; history vindicated her.

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