Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was removed from the House chamber Tuesday night after he disrupted President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress.
Green, who has long pushed to impeach Trump dating to his previous term in office, stood and shook his cane toward the president in the opening minutes of his speech.
Other lawmakers cheered and booed Green, causing further chaos on the House floor as Trump paused. The uproar prompted House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to read aloud from House rules.
âMembers are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions,â Johnson said, an admonishment aimed at Green.
After Green refused to sit and allow Trump to continue, Johnson called for the House sergeant at arms to remove him from the chamber.
âNah nah nah nah, goodbye,â Republicans chanted as Green was escorted from the room.
Outside the chamber, Green told NBC News that as “a person of conscience,” he believes Trump “has done things that I think we cannot allow to continue.”
“This whole budget that he has is one that is going to cause Medicaid to be cut, and when he said he had a mandate, it triggered something. It really did. Because he doesnât have a mandate, and he doesnât have a mandate to cut health care from poor people,” Green said.
The chamber was filled with other signs of protest and pushback.
Members of the Democratic Womenâs Caucus wore pink to protest Trumpâs policies on women and families. Other Democrats wore blue and yellow ties in support of Ukraine, days after Trump and Vice President JD Vance tangled with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an unexpectedly hostile Oval Office meeting.
Also visible on some Democratic members: stickers accusing Elon Musk of âstealing Social Security.â Musk, a billionaire whose government efficiency initiative is scrutinizing Social Security finances, has called the program a âPonzi scheme.â
Some Democrats also held black paddles that read âSAVE MEDICAID,â âPROTECT VETERANSâ and âMUSK STEALS.â Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., held a white board that read âTHATâS A LIE.â
A group of House Democrats also took off their jackets and revealed black shirts with writing on the back. Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Andrea Salinas of Oregon had shirts reading “Resist,” and Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida had one saying, “No more kings.”
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., posted on X that she walked out of the speech because she found the president’s remarks “shameful.”
“Thereâs only so much bulls— a person can tolerate,” she wrote.
House Democratic leaders had urged members during a closed-door party meeting earlier Tuesday to show proper decorum ahead of Trumpâs joint address, according to three House Democrats who attended the meeting.
Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., specifically asked members not to use âpropsâ to protest the speech, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., encouraged members to stay on message and keep the spotlight focused on the people affected by Trumpâs policies â not make the story about themselves.