Jon Stewart Returns To ‘The Daily Show’ With A Message For Congress

Jon Stewart made a return surprise appearance to The Daily Show on Monday, four months after handing the program over to Trevor Noah.

Although it was great to see Stewart behind the iconic desk again, he was not there to joke around. Stewart made use of his appearance to urge Congress to pass the Zadroga Reauthorization Act, which provides permanent health care to 9/11 first responders.

“It’s soon going to be out of money,” Stewart said on The Daily Show. “These first responders, many sick with cancers and pulmonary disease, have had to travel at their own expense to Washington, D.C., hundreds of times, to plead for our government to do the right thing.”

Stewart has been very proactive and passionate about this act for years. Back in 2009, Stewart hosted a panel of first responders to hear first hand stories from them in hopes to gain more support towards the act. This past September, he joined many protesters in Washington, demanding renewal of the act before it ran out in October.

Jon Stewart wants you to tell @SenateMajLdr to pass the 9/11 Zadroga Act. Now. #worstresponders #shameworks pic.twitter.com/tqIlzOLUYM

— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) December 8, 2015

Stewart took on the role of correspondent, giving insight into his trip to D.C., where he “hand-delivered some shame to the congress people who voted against renewing the act,” shared Rolling Stone. Many politicians avoided Stewart and his first responders “like markets and prairie dogs,” Stewart told the audience.

However, Stewart is not backing down anytime soon, warning he would sit in their offices all day if he had too. “I don’t know if you know this: I don’t really have a life anymore,” he told one aide.

The trip was not a complete waste. Stewart was able to convince Senator Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, to sign the bill after meeting with first responders.

Stewart continued with a second segment, where he pointed specific blame on House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) for the delay with the act. Stewart then took a look back on the four-person panel he held on the show in 2009 with the first responders. This time around only one responder was healthy enough to join the panel. Two responders are extremely ill and one has passed away.

Stewart is asking viewers to help rally support with the tweet #WorstResponders to gain support for the bill.