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Noisy protest outside McConnell’s Capitol Hill home over filling Ginsburg seat

Dozens of protesters marched along the street in front of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s home in D.C.’s Stanton Park neighborhood early Thursday morning. The demonstrators, spurred by the Kentucky Republican’s pledge to move forward with a vote on a nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, started playing music and chanting after 7 a.m. Protesters wearing face masks were seen holding signs reading “I want you to use my words against me” and “hypocrite,” referencing when McConnell declined to act in 2016 on the nomination of Merrick Garland to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

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The morning protest was organized by Sunrise DC, Long Live Go Go and Shut Down DC ahead of President Donald Trump’s Saturday announcement of his choice for a Supreme Court nominee. Earlier this week, protesters gathered outside Sen. Lindsey Graham’s D.C. home.

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The protests happened only blocks away from where Ginsburg is being remembered Thursday as she lies in repose at the Supreme Court. Ginsburg told her granddaughter she wanted her replacement to be appointed by the next president, NPR reported. “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed,” she dictated to granddaughter Clara Spera days before her death. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DC students made small gains on last year’s standardized tests, but still below prepandemic levels in math, data shows

D.C. students made small gains in reading last year, but math results haven't yet reached prepandemic levels, according to new citywide standardized test data released Thursday. At a news briefing, District education officials shared results from the D.C. CAPE standardized test. The assessment is given to third through 12th grade students in English, language arts and mathematics in the spring. It assigns students a level between one and five. Students scoring Level 1 didn't yet meet expectations, and Level 5 is defined as exceeding expectations. Scores of Level 4 or 5 are considered proficient and on grade level. Across the city, there was a 2% increase in ELA proficiency and a 2.1% bump in math proficiency, compared with the 2025 results. About 39.6% of students were considered on grade level in reading in the spring, the highest proficiency the city has reported since 2015. About 28.5% were proficient in math. Officials attribute several years of improving scores to investments in high-impact tutoring programs, teacher training materials and a focus on students adjusting during their first year of middle or high school. But while the city has surpassed its reading scores from before the pandemic, it hasn't yet reached that level in math.
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