CNN
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President Donald Trump made it about four minutes into his first speech to Congress before a Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Al Green, began shouting.
Green, a 77-year-old Texan who carries a cane and is known inside the US Capitol for his ardent anti-Trump bent, was removed from the House chamber. He later told reporters he had said Trump has “no mandate to cut Medicaid.”
Speaker Mike Johnson, who sat behind Trump, gave a verbal warning to Green, who earlier this year went to the floor of the same chamber to introduce articles of impeachment against Trump.
“Mr. Green take your seat. Take your seat, sir. Take your seat,” the speaker said, breaking into the president’s speech and summoning the House sergeant at arms to restore order and remove the 11-term member from his seat.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team had a highly scripted plan for how the party’s reaction would go. Party leaders urged rank-and-file members to show restraint and not mount a high-profile protest. Members were told no signs, no props and no attention-grabbing stunts that could be seized upon by the GOP.
But Green was not the only Democrat who sought to channel his party’s intense frustration at Trump during Tuesday night’s speech. The night saw a display of silent and not-so-silent displays of protest.
As first lady Melania Trump was introduced, some Democrats remained seated. And as the president entered the chamber, several in the party stood and turned their backs to him.
Signs, with messages from “Save Medicaid” to “Musk stays” and “False,” were also a feature.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico prominently held a sign that stated, “This is not normal,” as the president walked in. A GOP lawmaker ripped it from her hands. Stansbury and Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett were seen in “resist” T-shirts as they later joined others in walking out of the chamber.
“There’s only so much bullshit a person can tolerate,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a freshman Democrat, posted on X after she walked out on the speech.
Still others in attendance coordinated their outfits in protests — pink for women, black for Black Caucus members — while others decided not to go at all amid intense pressure to channel the anger from the party’s base. Even veteran Democrats, Sens. Patty Murray and Chris Murphy, opted to boycott the address.
“I don’t want to legitimize what [Trump] has done. For the people I represent, for them to see me in there, sitting there on my hands for a one or two hour speech would be incredibly frustrating,” Rep. Don Beyer, a veteran Democrat from northern Virginia where Trump’s downsizing of the federal government has laid off hundreds of workers, told CNN just ahead of the president’s remarks.
In a highly unusual move ahead of the speech, Jeffries had instructed his members to use restraint in their applause of Trump, according to two members familiar with the matter.
But the actions by Democrats like Green, Stansbury and others defied leadership’s calls in a dramatic way. Two senior aides said they could not recall another example of a member being removed from a presidential address.
Soon after the speech, Republicans warned there will be consequences.
Johnson told reporters he was “certain” many members would put forward a resolution to censure Green, adding: “He made history in a terrible way, and I hope he enjoys it. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, meanwhile, told CNN that a censure vote against Green would “obviously” be considered.
“He knows what he did was a clear violation of the House rules and it shouldn’t have happened, and it’s going to be dealt with,” Scalise said.
Tuesday marked a fresh test for Jeffries and congressional Democrats as the party attempts to determine how to handle Trump’s role in the annual tradition — with the usual pomp and circumstance in the Capitol — at a time when he is routinely flouting congressional authority.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons said there were “some moments of disrespect” from Democrats during the address, but he said the president’s speech was also “alarming.”
“Look, there were some moments of disrespect that I think were unfortunate and unnecessary. But frankly, there were also some just alarming misrepresentations by President Trump,” he told CNN when asked about several acts of protest by Democrats during the speech.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Lauren Fox, Morgan Rimmer, Alison Main, Aileen Graef and Sarah Davis contributed to this report.
