Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was removed from the House chamber while President Trump was giving a speech to Congress after Green heckled the president early in his address.
Trump had said that his 2024 election victory was a “mandate like has not been seen in many decades,” but Green disagreed, stating that Trump did not have a mandate.
Trump tried to continue his speech without responding to Green, but Green refused to sit down.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) repeatedly asked everyone to keep order and told Green to stop speaking, but Green kept talking.
“Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House, and to cease any further disruptions. That’s your warning,” Johnson said.
Johnson added, “Members are engaging in willful and continuing breach of decorum and the chair is prepared to direct a sergeant at arms to restore order to the joint session.”
He then directly told Green, “Mr. Green, take your seat. Take your seat, sir.”
Green also shouted at Trump, saying, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid.”
Johnson then ordered the sergeant-at-arms to remove Green from the chamber. As Green was escorted out, Republicans yelled, “Get out!” and sang, “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye.”
After Green was removed, Johnson told Trump to continue with his speech.
Trump used his wins in all seven swing states and his first-ever Republican popular vote win since 2004 as reasons for his “mandate.”
Critics of Trump argue that he did not have a true mandate, as he won the popular vote by only about 1.6 points and did not secure a majority of the vote.
Before the speech, there was concern about whether any Democrats would interrupt Trump, similar to how some Republicans heckled President Biden during his speeches. The House Freedom Caucus had warned that they would push to censure any Democrats who heckled Trump.
Green has been a strong critic of Trump, filing articles of impeachment against him multiple times, including last month.
After leaving the House chamber, Green spoke to reporters, saying that people who rely on Medicaid are worried the program could be cut under the House GOP budget, which aims to find $880 billion in cuts.
Green said he spoke up during the address to show his opposition to Trump’s policies, especially his attempts to cut Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. Green added that he was willing to accept any punishment for his actions, saying it was worth it to stand up for those who could lose their health care.
Trump has repeatedly said he would not cut funding for these programs, but the House budget plan calls for large cuts, which some say could impact Medicaid.
“Whatever the punishment is, I’m not fighting the punishment,” Green said. “This is about the people who are being punished by losing their health care. This is the richest country in the world, and we have people who don’t have good health care. We’ve got to do better.”
Watch the incident in the video below:
Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the sergeant at arms to remove Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas during President Trump's joint speech to Congress.https://t.co/nOhHQFCqWf pic.twitter.com/mE9Ff2rBpX
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) March 5, 2025
