House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the sergeant-at-arms to remove Rep. Al Green from the House chamber less than five minutes into Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress.
Green, a Texas Democrat who has long protested Trump’s presidency, stood up and disrupted Trump’s speech. “He has no mandate to cut Medicaid. You don’t have a mandate,” Green said, as other Democrats booed the president’s comments.
Green’s protest were in apparent reference to Republicans’ proposal to find $880 billion in mandatory spending cuts on programs overseen by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which includes Medicaid.
Vice President JD Vance stood up and applauded Johnson’s call to remove Green. He wasn’t the only one cheering on the move; White House spokesperson Harrison Fields posted to X following Green’s exit, writing that Green was equal to a trash can emoji.
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In an interview after leaving the floor, Green said he was “willing to suffer whatever punishment” to get his point across.
“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 he can remove from the various programs that have been so helpful,” Green told reporters.
Democrats in the chamber booed Trump’s remarks early, and continued to shout down the president’s speech, which touted his anti-transgender and anti-diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the freeze on foreign aid and many other actions his administration has taken.
Trump quickly acknowledged Democrats’ vocal response to his presidency.
“Once again I look at the Democrats in front of me and realize there is nothing I can say to make them happy, or to make them smile, stand or applaud,” Trump said. “Nothing I can do.”
Almost every time Democrats booed, Republicans drowned out their protests with chants.
Several Democrats opted for silent protest, displaying signs reading “False,” “Musk Steals” and “Save Medicaid.” Rep. Rashida Tlaib held a small dry-erase board with a changing message. Other Democratic women in the chamber wore pink as a color of protest and power.
Green’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Amelia Benavides-Colón is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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