A 50501 rally was held at the Capitol on Monday—President’s Day—to protest the executive orders and mass firings implemented by President Trump’s second administration. 50501 is an emerging nationwide political movement that seeks the resignation of Donald Trump and Elon Musk from their respective political positions, and the dismantling of Project 2025.
Specific policies criticized during the rally included Trump’s proposed revocation of birthright citizenship, which is currently facing scrutiny in several federal courts, the eradication of DEI programs in the federal government and higher education, and what protestors deemed the failure of Congress to take action against these orders.
The rally, No Kings on President’s Day, lasted for several hours and proved entirely peaceful. The estimated crowd size ranged in the hundreds or thousands. Protestors wrapped themselves in everything from Mexican flags to keffiyehs while toting signs decrying the perceived dictatorial nature of the current administration.
Former national park ranger and disabled veteran Kristin Jenn, who participated in the rally, stressed the importance of mobilization and organization against Trump’s executive order.
“I am here to figure out how I can help,” Jenn said. “I just got fired. I have time on my hands. I also have a voice, I have eloquent speech, and I have a very good visual in my park ranger uniform. I am putting my career on the line. I could get blackballed for this. But if not me, who’s going to do it? If not now, when?”
Jenn stated that her love of the national parks stemmed from her passion for showing the United States’ ecological richness and affirming the beauty of the American experiment.
“I had a 19-year lucrative career as a civilian tour guide, running around the national parks,” Jenn said. “I reached middle age, and I asked myself: what’s your legacy going to be? And I decided I wanted to work directly for the National Park Service, so I could show people the awesomeness of America’s greatest idea: the national park system.”
In order to pursue her dream of becoming a park ranger, however, Jenn had to make financial sacrifices.
“I was willing to change how I financially operate, to take a massive pay cut, to become a public servant,” Jenn said. “To ease my way into it—and it’s the easiest way to get a job in park service—I became a seasonal ranger. For two summers I was a seasonal park ranger in Denali National Park and Preserve. I decided this winter that I was ready to take the financial hit I would have to take in order to become a full-time ranger.”
So, Jenn moved forward with her plans to become a full time park ranger and applied for a series of jobs. But as soon as she obtained one, the current administration began “trimming the fat” off of social services, in the words of Department of Governmental Efficiency leader Elon Musk.
“On Jan. 10, I was offered my dream job,” Jenn said. “Two days after the inauguration, myself and my supervisor received an email saying, ‘This job no longer exists.’ They fired Forest Service people, National Parks’ Service people. Who’s going to fight the forest fires? They’re shooting themselves in the foot, and we’re not there to fix it.”
Jenn urged younger generations to continue fighting for what they believe in and to regard their individuality as an asset—not a liability. She said that the current political moment calls for people to use all of their talents to stop the dismantling of the federal work force.
She also encouraged students with the desire to make a career in the national park system to do so, and to start early.
“There’s so many volunteer organizations for park rangers,” Jenn said. “Off the top of my head, there’s the Student Conservation Corps. There are so many opportunities out there, I promise.”
Monday’s protest marked the second demonstration against President Trump at the Texas Capitol this month. The first took place on Feb. 5 and focused and focused on immigration policy and executive orders.
