BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s Parliament voted Monday to pass a constitutional amendment to remove President Tamás Sulyok from office and make some political reforms aimed at dismantling the political system of autocratic former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
After winning in a landslide election in April, current Prime Minister Péter Magyar and his pro-European, center-right Tisza party hold a two-thirds majority in Parliament, allowing them to make constitutional changes and roll back many of the policies Orbán implemented during his 16 years in power.
The constitutional amendment, which had the stated purpose of “restoring rule-of-law democracy,” passed with 139 votes for and six against in the 199-member Parliament. Tisza lawmakers held a standing ovation after the vote, while lawmakers from Orbán's far-right Fidesz party boycotted the parliamentary session.
Sulyok needs to sign the amendment within five days for it to become law, and has not said whether he would do so, but Tisza has vowed to launch an impeachment procedure against him if he doesn't.
Magyar has argued that Sulyok failed to live up to his role as president by neglecting to stand in the way of antidemocratic steps by Orbán’s government. Magyar promised repeatedly to remove Sulyok during the election campaign, and points to his party’s big win as a clear mandate from voters to fulfill that promise. Sulyok has resisted Magyar's calls to resign.
Following the vote, Magyar told a news conference that with the passage of the amendment his government had “started the transformation of the Orbán legal system.”
“With this vote today, we have closed an era,” he said. “We asked for and received a completely clear mandate from the Hungarian people to do this.”
The amendment would simply remove Sulyok from office, meaning that Parliament would elect a new president. It also would make some judicial reforms, set up an office aimed at investigating financial abuses under the Orbán government and impose a 12-year term limit on lawmakers.
Fidesz has argued that the amendment is an “unprecedented” assault on Hungary’s democratic order, and last week staged a protest in opposition to the changes which drew around 3,000 people but which Orbán did not attend.
On Monday, Orbán posted a photograph of Magyar on Facebook with the subtitle, “Democratic Hungary: 1990-2026” — the period since Hungary transitioned from state socialism. Orbán was traveling to the United States on Monday to attend the final three matches of the World Cup.
While mostly a ceremonial role, Hungary’s president is responsible for signing legislation into law and has the power to send bills passed by Parliament to the Constitutional Court for review. That’s raised concerns among supporters of the new government that Sulyok, an Orbán-era appointee, could use that power to obstruct its plans.
Since taking office in May, the government has quickly gone to work dismantling what Magyar calls Orbán’s “mafia” by removing numerous political appointees and heads of institutions viewed as having facilitated Orbán’s autocratic regime.
They suspended the news service of Hungary’s public television and radio — which Magyar has argued served as a “propaganda factory” for Orbán’s party — and shuttered Hungary's Sovereignty Protection Office, an authority seen by Orbán's opponents as a tool for intimidating critics and silencing independent media.
Prior to Monday's vote, Fidesz caucus leader Gergely Gulyás said the amendment “breaks up the legal system, undermines the rule of law and restricts democracy.” Gulyás announced he would resign as caucus leader, given that the amendment's 12-year term limit would make him unable to take a seat in Parliament in the next national election.
Fidesz supporters called for a candlelight vigil outside Hungary's parliament building on Monday evening to demonstrate against what they called the “tyranny” of Magyar's government.
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar holds an extraordinary press briefing following a voting on the 17th amendment to the Fundamental Law in the parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Tamas Purger/MTI via AP)
Deputies vote on the 17th amendment to the Fundamental Law at the plenary session of the parliament in in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Robert Hegedus/MTI via AP)
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar, second right, and Foreign Minister Anita Orban, right, vote on the 17th amendment to the Fundamental Law at the plenary session of the parliament in in Bud(Robert Hegedus/MTI via AP)
Evoking the same do-it-yourself pop-rock feminism of her '90s musical influences, Olivia Rodrigo raised $20 million for women's well-being with a benefit show that activated her young audience.
Daisy Chain Fields united a women-led lineup boasting queer pop star Chappell Roan, breakout rapper Doechii and riot grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill behind issues of women's health, workplace protections and legal rights. Ahead of Saturday's festival in Irvine, California, Rodrigo announced the show had already raised enough to make a $10 million donation to 10 nonprofit partners including Planned Parenthood, National Women's Law Center and Black Mamas Matter Alliance.
Philanthropist Melinda French Gates pledged another $10 million through her Pivotal Ventures in a surprise appearance at the start of Rodrigo's set, calling her “a force” and praising her for "showing a new generation how much their voices matter."
Speaking Friday alongside the beneficiaries, Rodrigo said the festival's artists and activists give her hope despite the “regression of women's rights” today.
“That's actually why I fell in love with the name ‘Daisy Chain,'” she said Friday. "It served as a reminder of how individual parts can come together to create something strong and unbreakable."
Rodrigo, 23, has made a name channeling the rage and dissatisfaction of modern romance into chart-topping songs that are equal parts Taylor Swift and Alanis Morissette. Few superstars are better suited, then, to bridge the gap between Gen Z and nonprofits, which have struggled to build relationships with younger donors who tend to prefer informal ways of giving.
The connection is not lost on Daisy Chain Fields attendees.
“People don’t join together and mobilize unless they feel connected to the group that is mobilizing," said Grace Slevin, 24. "What’s better than music?”
All-star benefit concerts have long been popular for driving millions of dollars toward everything from refugee aid and famine relief to pandemic response and natural disasters. But it's been decades since a young artist with Rodrigo's following brought her peers together for gender justice.
That focus comes as President Donald Trump attempts to overhaul family planning grants that reproductive health clinics use to provide birth control and treat sexually transmitted infections. His administration paused $27.5 million last year for such organizations, including some Planned Parenthood affiliates, before officials agreed to restore the money.
For Slevin, an Orange County, California, resident who does anti-sex-trafficking advocacy, Daisy Chain Fields embodies the sentiment of “be who you needed when you were younger." She loves that attendees are welcome to learn about the beneficiaries' work in addition to donating.
Daisy Chain Fields invited nonprofit partners to engage with fans in its “philanthropy village.” Festivalgoers can collect pins from each booth as they learn about health services from Planned Parenthood's local partners or pay tribute to caregivers through the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
Younger generations expect that authenticity, Slevin said, something beyond what she called a “pseudo-sort-of-progressiveness.”
“They can see just how deeply intertwined the music is with the cause," she said. "It’s not just, like, a second thought.”
Rodrigo took inspiration from Lilith Fair, the all-women festival that raised $10 million for charity from 1997 to 1999. Sarah McLachlan, who founded the show to dispel the music industry’s notion they couldn't book women consecutively, is listed as a special guest of Daisy Chain Fields.
Planned Parenthood National Director of Arts and Entertainment Caren Spruch recalled working on Lilith Fair. Concert outreach has long been an important tool to reach people "where they are,” she said.
That culture-shifting work grows more important during times like this, she acknowledged, when abortion clinics are closing in restrictive states and anti-abortion groups are pushing the courts to limit access to the drugs used in the most common method of abortion.
Rodrigo, Spruch said, talks about those topics with “no shame or stigma.” As she did with other nonprofits, the three-time Grammy winner appeared in informational videos on Planned Parenthood's social media.
“All of that does so much to help us normalize the whole range of reproductive health and rights," Spruch said.
Melissa Shaw, 33, is driving to the festival from Tucson, Arizona, with her 8-year-old daughter.
They didn't plan to spend the day camped out for close-up views. Shaw wanted to let her daughter ask questions as they explored the nonprofits and visited art installations. She appreciates that Rodrigo is not only promoting well-known organizations such as Planned Parenthood, but also groups focused specifically on Black maternal health or baby formula access.
Shaw said it “definitely makes me a bigger fan knowing that they're dedicating their time to causes like these."
“It’s really important for me as a parent to expose my daughter to celebrities who set that example," she said.
Her daughter loves Rodrigo and Roan, and she herself grew up listening to Bikini Kill and fellow performer Santigold. The lineup seemed intentionally curated to attract multiple generations, she said. She's seen many mother-daughter duos sharing their festival plans online.
The festival's nonprofit partners were eager to join that multigenerational community of women, too. National Domestic Workers Alliance President Ai-jen Poo said the festival's joyful atmosphere serves as a “powerful reminder to women everywhere of all ages that, no matter what, we have each other.”
Her organization works to ensure federal workplace protections for domestic workers, who are disproportionately women and immigrant women. She wants to recruit more young people, many of whom she said are worried they can't afford to take care of their loved ones or start families.
“The only way change happens is through intergenerational connection and movements in our country," she said. "This generation of young people has the opportunity to really change how we support caregiving for future generations.”
Just as notable as the fundraising total is the type of donation made by the festival.
Charitable partners applauded the grants for general operating support — meaning the nonprofits decide how to spend the money.
Black Mamas Matter Alliance co-founder Angela Doyinsola Aina said that support “is often the hardest kind of funding to raise and the most useful kind to receive, because it sustains the training, convening, and advocacy that make everything else possible.”
For the National Women's Law Center, the gift offers flexibility to plug their own budgetary holes as they litigate sex discrimination cases. Uma Iyer, the nonprofit's chief external affairs officer, said the support also boosted staff morale.
“We work on really hard things every day,” she said. “It was really energizing for us and it’s been really uplifting.”
Including both everyday audiences and front line workers in benefits is key, according to Farm Aid co-executive director Jennifer Fahy. The annual fundraising concerts — launched by Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp to raise awareness of family farmers' challenges —- celebrated their 40th anniversary last year.
Fahy noted it is less common nowadays to see artists donate their performances for free.
“It’s just wonderful to see an artist of that generation, that new young generation, who is embracing that opportunity that exists to do these kinds of events, to share the stage and microphone to highlight issues that are important to the artist," Fahy said.
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
Olivia Rodrigo performs at the Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, at Great Park in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Audience members watch Olivia Rodrigo perform with special guest Sarah McLachlan at the Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, at Great Park in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Olivia Rodrigo, left, introduces special guest Sarah McLachlan to the audience at the Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, at Great Park in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Olivia Rodrigo performs at the Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, at Great Park in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Olivia Rodrigo performs at the Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, at Great Park in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
FILE - Olivia Rodrigo performs at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, England on June 29, 2025. (Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)
