CNN
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President Donald Trump made it about four minutes after his first speech to Congress before Democrat Rep. Al Green began screaming.
Green, 77-year-old Texan, carrying a cane and known inside the U.S. Capitol for his enthusiastic anti-Trump bend, was removed from the room of the house. He later told reporters that Trump “has no authority to cut Medicaid.”
Speaker Mike Johnson, sitting behind Trump, went to the floor in the same room earlier this year to present an article on the bluff each against Trump.
“Mr. Green should take your seat. Take your seat, Teacher. The speaker said, breaking into the president’s speech, summoning an Army sergeant, restoring the orders, and removing the 11th term members from their seats.
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team had a very scripted plan for how the party’s response would go. The leadership of the party urged members of the Rank and File to show restraint and not to make a famous protest. Members had no signs, props or attention-grabbing stunts that could be seized by the GOP.
But he wasn’t the only Democrat who tried to lead Trump to the party’s intense frustration during his speech on Tuesday night. At night, we saw a quiet and less wise display of protest.
When First Lady Melania Trump was introduced, some Democrats remained seated. Then, as the president entered the room, some of the party stood up and turned their backs on him.
Signs that included messages from “Save Medicaid” to “Stay Mask” and “Fake” were also a feature.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico highlighted the signs that when the president came in, “this is not normal.” A GOP lawmaker tore it out of her hand. Stansbury and Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett were later seen on a “resist” t-shirt when they later joined others and left the room.
“There’s too many bullshits that people can tolerate,” Rep. Sidney Kamlager Dove, a freshman Democrat, posted to X after he went out to give a speech.
Others present also adjusted their outfits in the protest – pink for women, black members of the Black Caucus – decided not to go at all under the strong pressure of leading anger from party bases. Veteran Democrats Senator Patty Murray and Chris Murphy have chosen to boycott the address.
“I don’t want to justify what (Trump) did. It would be very frustrating to see me there, for the people I represent, to sit there, sitting there for an hour or two speech,” Don Bayer, a veteran Democrat in Northern Virginia, told CNN just before the president’s remark, where Trump’s federal government cut off hundreds of workers.
In a very unusual move before the speech, Jeffries had instructed members to use restraint in Trump’s applause, according to two members familiar with the issue.
But actions by Democrats such as Greene and Stansbury ignored the call for leadership in dramatic ways. The two senior aides said they could not recall another example in which members were removed from the president’s speech.
Shortly after the speech, Republicans warned that there were consequences.
Johnson told reporters that “certainly” he would propose a resolution that many members would denounce Green. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steve Scullies told CNN that a vote of criticism against Green would be “clearly” considered.
“He knows what he did is a clear violation of the House rules, but that shouldn’t have happened.
Tuesday marked a new test for Jeffries and Congressional Democrats as they attempt to determine how the party handles Trump’s role in the annual tradition – accompanied by the usual dignity and circumstances of the Capitol, at a time when he is routinely robbing Congressional authority.
Sen. Chris Coons said there was a “moment of disrespect” from Democrats during his speech, but he also said the president’s speech was “uneasy.”
“There were some rude moments that I looked at and thought were unhappy and unnecessary. But frankly, there were some surprising misrepresentations by President Trump,” he told CNN when asked about some of the protests by Democrats during his speech.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
Lauren Fox, Morgan Rimmer, Alison Main, Aileen Graef and Sarah Davis from CNN contributed to this report.
