Rep. Al Green Removed from House for Heckling Trump During Congressional Address
House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that Rep. Al Green should face censure from the House due to his actions.
On Tuesday night, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was expelled from the House chamber for interrupting President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress.
Approximately four minutes into the speech, Green attempted to speak while shaking his cane at the president, but his remarks were quickly overshadowed by chants of “USA! USA!” from Republican members.
In the midst of the uproar, Trump tried to proceed with his address until House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) intervened, striking the gavel and reciting House rules.
“Members are instructed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions. That’s your warning,” Johnson addressed Green. “Members are engaging in a willful and ongoing breach of decorum, and the chair is prepared to direct the sergeant at arms to restore order to the joint session.”
The assembly erupted in applause. Johnson then instructed Green to return to his seat.
Instead, the congressman remained standing and yelled at Trump, stating, “you have no mandate to cut Medicaid.”
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This led Johnson to call upon the sergeant at arms to restore order and have Green removed.
As he was being taken out of the chamber, Green continued to shake his cane at Trump while other legislators chanted “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye.”
After Green’s removal, Johnson reminded everyone of the need to maintain decorum within the House. He then asked Trump to proceed with his address, which the president continued.
Following the incident, Johnson remarked that Green should be censured by the House.
“He made history in a terrible way, and I hope he enjoys it,” Johnson told reporters. “If they want to make a 77-year-old heckling congressman the face of their resistance, then so be it; we will not tolerate such behavior on the House floor.”
Green Claims Expulsion ‘Worth It’
Green expressed no regrets about his protest and stated he is willing to face any repercussions for his actions in the House.
After his removal, the Democrat told reporters, “It’s worth it to let people know that some of us will stand up against this president.”
He emphasized that during Trump’s remarks, the president claimed to have a mandate, and Green wanted to clarify that Trump has no authority to cut Medicaid.
Medicaid is a health care program that serves 80 million Americans.
Johnson and the GOP leadership have assured that any Medicaid cuts would solely target fraud and corruption.
Rep. Al Green shouts as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on March 4, 2025. Win McNamee/AP
In addition, Green cautioned against potential cuts to Medicare and Social Security, the retirement program.
“This is about punishing people by taking away their health care,” Green stated. “This is the richest country in the world, and health care is about to transform into wealth care, and we can’t allow that to happen.”
Green, who had previously called for Trump’s impeachment during the president’s first term, also mentioned that he is devising new articles of impeachment against him.
During Trump’s first term, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) famously tore up the president’s speech on the dais once he finished.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for a response.
Joseph Lord and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
