AL GREEN
“The next president of the United States will be the president of only one party,” Thomas Jefferson predicted as George Washington left office with his single-mindedness. Never in the modern era has that narrow vision of the presidency been more evident than on March 4th, when Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time in his second term. In the chamber that evening, at least, he was the president of venerable Republicans, and the scornful, leaderless Democrats seemed relevant only as his foil.
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NPR brings you the latest from President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. For more updates, get our NPR Politics newsletter or listen to the NPR Politics podcast. Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green was removed from the House chamber after heckling President Trump during his first address to a joint session of Congress in his second term. While opposition lawmakers have been vocal in their seats during the past president’s address, Green’s removal from the chamber marked a complete break from tradition.
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Green stood up and began yelling at Trump after the president mentioned his 2024 election victory and claimed he had been given a mandate by the American people. Green initially received a warning from House Speaker Mike Johnson and was ejected by the sergeant at arms when he didn’t stop.
The Texas Democrat repeatedly shouted that the president had no mandate.
“It’s worth letting people know that there are people who are going to stand up for [Trump],” Green told reporters outside the chamber. President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 4.
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Read NPR’s annotated fact check of President Trump’s speech to Congress . Other lawmakers led peaceful protests. A group of Democratic women wearing T-shirts reading “Resistance” walked out of the president’s speech, as did other Democrats during the speech. Others waved black signs saying “Lies.” Representative Maxwell Frost was one of the few members to leave the chamber during Trump’s speech. He wore a shirt that read, “No King Lives Here.” “In the spirit of the student protesters of the civil rights movement, I am proud to protest and walk out with many of my colleagues,” Frost said in a post on social media. “These are not normal times.”
Democrats are the minority party in the Senate and House of Representatives. Many lawmakers have taken to the streets in response to the Trump administration’s sweeping changes to the federal government.
