Fitch is the president and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation and a former congressional staffer.
The Congressional Management Foundation today announced the winners of the seventh annual Democracy Awards, CMF’s program recognizing non-legislative achievement and performance in congressional offices and by members of Congress. Two members of Congress, one Democrat and one Republican, are recognized in four categories related to their work in Congress.
Americans usually only hear about Congress when something goes wrong. The Democracy Awards shines a light on Congress when it does something right. These members of Congress and their staff deserve recognition for their work to improve accountability in government, modernize their work environments and serve their constituents.
In the Constituent Service category, Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) was recognized for mandating a 24-hour response time to constituent requests for assistance. The office has separate intake and casework manuals and utilizes a shared intake drive that is checked by five staff members throughout the day to expedite processing. The Democratic winner, Rep. Lucy McBath, the first member of Congress from Georgia to win an award, was cited for having a “living casework intake guide” that’s altered quarterly as federal agency processes change and constituent needs fluctuate. The guide includes every step of creating a new case and all questions that need to be asked at intake for each agency with which the office interacts.
Bilirakis also won in the Constituent Accountability and Accessibility category. CMF staff noted the congressman’s vote record is displayed on his website and the rationale for each vote is explained in his weekly newsletter. Also, Bilirakis held approximately 100 in-person or tele-town hall meetings in 2023. The Democrat winner, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), was recognized for offering diverse language options for constituents to understand services available, and providing child care services at town hall meetings so single parents can attend.
The Republican winner for the Workplace Environment category (known as the “Life in Congress” award), Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.), was cited for his creative workplace policies, including offering a flexible telework policy, compensatory time off, and three office- sanctioned fitness breaks per week. The Bacon office also has the lowest staff turnover in the Nebraska delegation. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), the Democratic winner, was noted for a year-long staff mentorship program, which includes matching senior staff with new hires for confidential advice and guidance as well as providing formal training and monthly group check-ins.
For the fourth category, Innovation and Modernization, Rep. Don Davis (N.C.) was the Democratic winner and the only first-term member of Congress to win an award. Davis’ office has increased feedback from meeting with constituents by offering participants a QR code to link directly to feedback forms. Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), the Republican winner, was noted for a novel Senior Fellows Program designed to meet the specific needs of older adults. This program offers a specially tailored orientation and extensive training to accommodate two longer service, six-month terms per year.
The process for selecting the winners was conducted over a six-month period in 2024. House and Senate personal offices self-nominated in early 2024 using an online questionnaire. CMF then followed up with offices to conduct interviews and assess each office's adherence to the established criteria, using a detailed checklist to determine a list of finalists who would advance to the selection committee phase. In June, the committee, composed of former congressional staffers and former members of Congress, selected two winners (one Democrat and one Republican) for each category using the nomination forms, interview notes and supporting material provided by the office.
The founding partner for the Democracy Awards is the Bridge Alliance, which provided a generous grant to launch the program. Bridge Alliance is a diverse coalition of more than 90 organizations committed to revitalizing democratic practice in America. (The Bridge Alliance publishes The Fulcrum.)
The ceremony honoring all finalists and winners will be held on Sept 26.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a“ Steel Across America” event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on Sept. 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C. President Trump welcomed 9/ 11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’ s“ Steel Across America” event featuring a 16,900- pound, 21- foot steel beam recovered.
For Trump, even 9/11 is an opportunity
There was a reason organizers of the 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan told President Trump he could not speak at this year’s memorial service.
A good one, it turns out.
Because in a speech he gave on Tuesday in Washington, he did exactly what they were presumably worried about — he made it about himself.
According to The New York Times, Trump had wanted a speaking role at the service, but the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, said no, as they’ve maintained for the past decade-plus that the venue and event should be nonpartisan.
Trump has long used awful tragedies to either puff himself up, trash political opponents, or sell lies to the American people.
He blamed a deadly plane crash at Washington National Airport last year on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. He blamed Puerto Ricans for the devastation they endured after Hurricane Maria in 2017. He reportedly considered withholding disaster relief after the California wildfires based on the way affected regions voted. In an interview on Fox News meant to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, he used the occasion to slam former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…with graves of the dead behind him.
And now, as we approach the 25th anniversary of what many New Yorkers consider the darkest day in modern history, Trump has done it again.
He told a rambling, nonsensical story — one he’s told before — about going to Ground Zero just after terrorists flew two commercial jets into the twin towers. In the story, which no one has been able to verify, despite multiple attempts, he says firefighters had to carry him out of One Liberty Plaza, also known as the U.S. Steel Building, because they thought it was about to collapse.
As CNN fact checker Daniel Dale notes, there’s no evidence Trump went into this building, especially at a time when NYPD and NYFD had locked down the area. There’s no evidence that building was collapsing — in fact, it was deemed structurally sound and reopened within two months of the attacks. There’s no evidence he was carried out of it by firefighters.
But the lie isn’t even the worst part. Pretend it was all true — why would the leader of our country, and a New Yorker, decide to make that tragic day about himself?
Because that’s who Donald Trump is. He’s a malignant narcissist.
He’s also, incidentally, a terrible and ineffectual president, who’s made ill-fated decisions that he has to keep defending, and there’s nothing he won’t do to make himself look and feel better.
Within the first two minutes of his speech, he was cravenly using 9/11 to justify and promote his dumb war in Iran — two events separated by 25 years and 6,000 miles.
“And I will tell you, we’re right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon, they were very close to getting it, and now they have no chance at getting it. They will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve been punished greatly. As you know, we’ve really taken it to them.”
As a New Yorker who lived through 9/11, still one of the worst days of my life, I’m utterly sickened by Trump’s crass, political, and self-promotional framing of that awful day.
And I’m relieved he won’t be given a platform to do it again on Friday’s anniversary in lower Manhattan.
Because for Trump, everything is his for the taking, and absolutely nothing is sacred.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.