President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress kicked off on a heated note Tuesday night as Democrats made good on their plans to disrupt the speech.
Democratic lawmakers, led by Texas Rep. Al Green, broke into jeers as Trump spoke, prompting House Speaker Mike Johnson to call in the Sergeant of Arms when they refused to heed his orders to “uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions.”
Green was quickly escorted out of the chamber for refusing to take a seat in defiance of Johnson’s instructions. The congressman repeatedly yelled that Trump had “no mandate” to cut Medicaid.
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“This is my fifth such speech to Congress, and once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud,” Trump said after the incident.
“These people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. They won’t do it no matter what… and it just shouldn’t be this way,” he added.
Shortly after he got kicked out, Green told reporters that he spoke out against Trump’s Medicaid comments because many of his constituents were “very fearful” of possible cuts to their healthcare.
“These are the safety net programs that people in my congressional district depend on, and this president seems to care less about them and more about the number of people that he can remove from the various programs that have been so helpful for so many people,” he said.
Green added that he was ready to face the consequences of his protest and was working on articles of impeachment against Trump: “This president is unfit. He should not hold the office.”
Johnson told Fox News' Sean Hannity that he expected a censure resolution to be brought against Green over the protest:
“He couldn’t behave himself, it’s quite shameful,” Johnson said.
“It was really quite a spectacle,” he added. “If they’re gonna use a 77-year-old heckling congressman as the face of their resistance, then bring it on, but we’re not gonna tolerate that on the House floor.”
Even in silence, however, Democrats still found a way to protest.
New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury held up a sign that read “This is NOT normal” as Trump walked past her toward the center of the chamber.
New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez held up a “Musk Steals” sign as other Democratic lawmakers hoisted up their own “Save Medicaid” and “Protect Veterans” cards.
And even as Trump spoke, a number of Democratic lawmakers quietly exited the chamber.
Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost exited the chamber, revealing the back of his shirt, which read “No kings live here.” Rep. Jasmine Crockett also left, showing off her own shirt, which read “RESIST.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders was also spotted getting up from his seat more than halfway into the president’s speech by the Daily Beast.
News Nation Capitol Hill producer Kirsten Eskow additionally posted a video to X of the Sanders addressing reporters outside the House chamber, where one journalist asked Sanders what he thought of Trump’s speech. He replied: “My speech is going to be better.”
Sanders is slated to deliver a response on Trump’s address later on Tuesday night.
Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman also reported that “droves” of Democrats walked out of the House chamber around the same time, naming Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Reps. Jared Huffman, Ilhan Omar, Pramila Jayapal, Jamie Raskin, and Zoe Lofgren as part of the pool.
The president earlier this year branded himself a “king” after he rolled back New York City’s controversial traffic congestion pricing program.
Several Democratic representatives—all women—also showed up to the speech wearing varying shades of pink. New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, the chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, said they did it to send Trump a message.
“We cannot afford the discrimination he is unleashing against women everywhere,” she said in a press conference, slamming Trump for everything “from firing admirals at the Coast Guard to cutting women’s health research and slashing programs to combat violence against women.”
Axios earlier reported that Democrats were considering an array of options to protest Trump’s speech, including the use of signs and noisemakers such as hand clappers.
