2025 RFK Human Rights Award

Three months after being fired from the Department of Justice, I was honored to receive this award in memory of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, after whom DOJ's headquarters building is named.

Yesterday, I was recognized at the U.S. Capitol with the 2025 RFK Human Rights Award, along with two other, courageous women: Maine Governor Janet Mills and immigrant rights’ advocate Jeanette Vizguerra. Senator Cory Booker delivered an inspiring keynote address reminding us that as individual citizens, our actions can and do make a difference. My remarks are below, along with a few photos from the ceremony. Thank you to all of you who have been following, sharing, and supporting my journey these last few months. I am so grateful!

Remarks June 5, 2025

Three months ago, I was fired from the Department of Justice, which turned my life upside down. Today, I am being honored with an award in the name of the 64^th Attorney General of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy. I simply do not have the words to tell you how much that means to me.

Robert F. Kennedy embodies the values and ideals of the Department of Justice—so much so that the Department’s headquarters building here in Washington bears his name. Until March, I was privileged to work in that building. As anyone who’s been there knows, it is a grand old building, filled with murals, sculptures, and history. It is really a monument to the ideal of justice, inside and out.

On the outside, overlooking Pennsylvania Ave., the building prominently features this inscription:

“No free government can survive that is not based on the supremacy of law. Where law ends, tyranny begins. Law alone can give us freedom.”

This award—like that inscription—is a powerful statement that the supremacy of law is enduring. The rule of law cannot readily be dismantled by any man or woman. The occupants of the building bearing Senator Kennedy’s name will come and go. The portraits on the walls will change. But the institution and what it stands for will endure. That is the hopeful message I will take from this recognition.

This award is also a timely reminder that we must be brave when our values are challenged, and we must keep fighting what threatens our freedom. I was not born with confidence or courage. No one knows that as well as my parents and my sister, who are here today. But if you are raised with integrity, as I was, you will find confidence within yourself when you need it. You will find that courage emerges when your values are tested.

What prepared me most to meet this moment was the 10 years I spent as a public defender. As a public defender, your job is to fight for justice without any institutional power behind you. Every outcome depends on the sheer merit of your cause and the force of your own advocacy.

That was excellent training for the moment we are in now. Powers of our government that were designed to protect us are now being wielded against us. Institutions entrusted with upholding our liberties, like the Department of Justice, are being commandeered by bullies.

Being a public defender taught me that the only effective way to deal with a bully is to stand up, look them in the eye, and fight back. Bullies hate to be challenged. Their power comes from making us afraid to speak up and fight back. Now is not the time to give into that fear. It is the time to be brave and fight for what we care about. Scary as it can be, I have never regretted a time when I stood up for myself or others.

For those who are feeling powerless in this moment, I would encourage you to do the same. Stretch yourself. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Courage is just integrity in action. None of us knows how to meet this moment because we’ve never lived through a time like this before. There is no playbook and there are no wrong ideas. All we can do is grab the tools we have and seize the opportunities that arise to make an impact.

Also, please support those who are on the frontlines of the fight for democracy. They will draw strength and inspiration from you.

I can’t tell you how much the support of others has meant to me. These last few months have felt like years. I have often felt vulnerable and tired. I have doubted myself. I have questioned my purpose. But, again and again, I am energized and inspired by the people in my life who are cheering me on from near and far.

I especially want to thank my family, who have given me an abundance of love, support, and encouragement. You are truly the best. Here today are my husband, my son, my sister, my parents, my in-laws, four aunts, one uncle, one cousin, and some dear friends. My sister has been my champion from Day 1. My husband and my son have been by my side on this journey every single day, through all the ups and downs. You give me the strength to keep going. Thank you.

Thank you to my fellow honorees, Jeanette Vizguerra and Gov. Janet Mills, for your heroic service. Thank you to the countless civil servants who continue to serve the public with honor even in the most challenging of times. And thank you from the bottom of my heart to Kerry Kennedy, the Kennedy family, and RFK Human Rights for this award. It is the honor of a lifetime.

I am filled with gratitude today. I am grateful that I have the voice, the tools, and the freedom to stand up for democracy. I am grateful for the support that you all have given me along the way.