Jon Stewart has a problem with Congress.
The comedian on Thursday delivered another fiery speech slamming lawmakers' treatment of veterans, this time after Senate Republicans blocked a bill to expand healthcare coverage for veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits. The bill, the PACT Act, previously passed in the House, but a procedural vote to advance the latest version of it failed in the Senate on Wednesday.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Since leaving The Daily Show, Stewart has advocated for veterans' issues, and he devoted the first episode of his Apple TV+ show The Problem with Jon Stewart to the issue of toxic burn pits. When President Biden mentioned troops "breathing in toxic smoke from burn pits" during his State of the Union address, Stewart applauded the fact that "the president of the United States saw their struggle."
But in his Thursday remarks about Republicans blocking the PACT Act, Stewart blasted the Senate as a place where "accountability goes to die," expressing shock that the bill, which would ensure veterans "don't have to decide between their cancer drugs and their house," failed to move forward. He also called "bulls--t" on Republicans' argument that it would create a "slush fund."
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) previously said he expects the bill to pass "in some form or another" but that Republicans want a "negotiation to eliminate some of the mandatory spending," CNN reports. But Stewart said veterans suffering from cancer "aren't on Senate time, they're on human time," noting the Senate is about to begin a recess.
"If this is America first," Stewart added, "then America is f--ked."
-
Prisoner 951: ‘illuminating’ Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe dramaThe Week Recommends 'Harrowing' tale of prison ordeal and an ‘unbreakable’ bond between husband and wife
-
Sudoku medium: November 26, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Crossword: November 26, 2025The daily crossword from The Week
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
