Rep. Al Green heckling Trump during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.
Win McNamee / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
Rep. Al Green heckled Trump's joint address on Tuesday night.
The Texas Democrat was eventually booted on the orders of Speaker Mike Johnson.
Green later told reporters it was "worth it."
For the first time in recent memory, a lawmaker was thrown out of the House chamber during a president's address to a joint session of Congress.
It began mere minutes into President Donald Trump's speech on Tuesday night, when the president spoke about the "mandate" that he'd earned by virtue of his victory in the 2024 election.
Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat known for making theatrical gestures, stood up and began heckling Trump, telling him that he had "no mandate" to make cuts to Medicaid.
Democrats have accused Trump and Republicans of pushing for cuts to the program, which serves lower-income Americans, by virtue of a budget resolution that passed the House last week.
Green's heckling was immediately met with shouting from the Republican side of the aisle, with GOP lawmakers telling the Texas Democrat to sit down and shut up. But Green persisted, eventually leading House Speaker Mike Johnson to direct the House Sergeant at Arms to escort the congressman out of the chamber.
Rep. Al Green is removed from the House chamber after interrupting President Trump's joint congressional address.
"It's worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up" to Trump, Green told reporters outside the chamber. He added that he was unsure if he'd face any formal punishment.
The Texas Democrat announced last month that he would introduce articles of impeachment against Trump, despite a lack of support from the recent of his caucus.
He made a similar move during the president's first term in office, even forcing three different votes on his impeachment resolution in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Republican lawmakers such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado frequently heckled former President Joe Biden's State of the Union addresses, but they were never removed from the chamber.
On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump made history, delivering the longest presidential address to Congress on record.
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Trump delivered a nearly-two hour address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday.
He used the moment to celebrate tariffs and the DOGE office's efforts to cut spending.
The address was at times raucous, with Democratic lawmakers loudly protesting Trump's remarks.
On Tuesday night, PresidentΒ Donald Trump made history, delivering the longest presidential address on record to Congress.
Over the course of nearly two hours, Trump touched on a variety of topics, including DOGE, tariffs, tech companies, tax policy, and more.
It wasn't without interruption or protest. A few minutes into Trump's speech, Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas began heckling the president over Medicaid, leading House Speaker Mike Johnson to order security forces to escort the congressman out of the chamber. Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, the top Democrat on theΒ DOGE subcommittee, held a sign declaring, "This is not normal" as Trump walked past her. Other House Democrats displayed signs declaring that "Musk Steals," and dozens left the chamber before the speech ended.
Here are the major takeaways from Trump's speech.
Elon Musk celebrates during President Donald Trump's address to Congress.
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Trump praised Elon Musk β and made it harder to dodge legal questions
Elon Musk had a prime seat for Trump's address. Trump lavished praise on the de facto White House DOGE office leader. His exact phrasing will likely create headaches for the Justice Department.
"I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, perhaps you've heard of it," Trump said, "which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight."
A top White House official recently said in federal court that Musk was neither the DOGE office administrator nor an employee of the group. Instead, the White House has said that Musk is a senior advisor to the president. Instead of Musk, the White House has said Amy Gleason, a veteran US Digital Service employee, is leading the DOGE office as interim administrator.
If Musk is truly the DOGE office's leader, it could open him up to more questions about the extent of his role and the potential conflicts of interest he may have given that Tesla and SpaceX have received billions in federal contracts. As a special government employee, Musk has filed a financial disclosure but it is not required to release it publicly.
Democrats have repeatedly criticized Musk. Some of them held up small signs Tuesday night that said, "Musk steals" while Trump spoke. Others pointed to the world's richest man in jest after Trump declared during his address, "the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over."
Trump is ready for a trade war, no matter what 'little' adjustments might come
Wall Street is still absorbing the first round of Trump's tariffs. On Tuesday, Trump indicated he's ready to impose tariffs on several other nations, including India, South Korea, Brazil, and the European Union.
"On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada, have you heard of them?" Trump said during his speech to Congress. "And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair."
Trump's current tariffs are linked to the White House's frustration with China, Canada, and Mexico's respective handling of the fentanyl crisis. Trump said he will impose additional tariffs on April 2 on agricultural products and other goods to reset global trade.
Earlier Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the US was not in a "trade war but a drug war." Hours before Trump's speech, Lutnick sounded optimistic that the US could reach a tariffs compromise with at least its neighbors. Trump's comments are a reminder that trade will be omnipresent through the president's final term.
The White House has, at times, conceded that Americans might face the effects of tariffs. Trump has long falsely claimed that only foreign nations pay tariffs, but during his address, he said that American farmers β often the target of retaliatory tariffs β might face temporary pain.
"It may be a little bit of an adjustment period," Trump said in his speech Tuesday night.
President Donald Trump praised Apple and its CEO Tim Cook during his speech.
SHAWN THEW / POOL / AFP
Big Tech receives big shout-outs after playing nice with Trump
In his speech, Trump name-checked Apple, Oracle, and Softbank for their investments in the US. His comments show that Silicon Valley's playbook to get right with the White House is working.
The president mentioned Apple CEO Tim Cook by name, the type of shout-out that lawmakers and cabinet secretaries used to fight over in major presidential addresses. Cook recently met with Trump at the White House. Soon after, Apple said it would invest $500 billion in the US.
"Tim Cook called me, he said, 'I cannot spend it fast enough,'" Trump said Tuesday night.
This is a notable change from Trump's first term, when the president and Republicans were frequently frustrated with Big Tech. The GOP regularly criticized Meta and other social media companies during the Biden administration. Now, even Mark Zuckerberg is praising Trump.
It isn't all good news for tech. Apple has a lot at stake in a US trade war. Foreign countries, especially China, have also shown that they will put tech in the ringer to retaliate against the White House. Trump is also threatening a bipartisan semiconductor bill that was one of President Joe Biden's biggest achievements.
"Your Chips act is a horrible, horrible thing," Trump said in his speech. "We give hundreds of billions of dollars and it doesn't mean a thing."
MAGA-fest destiny is coming for Greenland
Trump's protectionist trade policies aren't the only return to a bygone American era. He has laid out an expansionist worldview that hearkens back to the manifest destiny of 19th century.
During his speech, Trump reiterated his view that he wants the US to take Greenland, a self-governing territory under control of Denmark. Greenlanders and Danes have repeatedly said Greenland is not for sale.
It didn't stop Trump from promising he'll get the island "one way or another." In the past, Trump has refused to rule out taking Greeland by force.
"We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we're working with everybody involved to try and get it," Trump said during his speech Tuesday. "But we need it really for international world security. And I think we're going to get it one way or the other. We're going to get it. We will keep you safe. We will make you rich."