Shortly after Trump began his marathon speech, the Texas representative stood up and cried out that the president had no orders.
Democrat leader Al Greene wasn’t the first lawmaker to blow out the cry of protest during his presidential speech to the US Congress.
But he is probably the only person in recent memory that was kicked out of the hall on Tuesday night by the family chair Mike Johnson.
Shortly after Donald Trump began his longest presidential speech to Congress in modern history, Greene rose to his feet, waving his cane, yelling, “You have no obligation.”
“Sit down your**!” cried Republican Rep. Nancy Mace at Green, who remains standing.
In chants from an infuriated Republican, House Speaker Johnson has weaponized a sergeant who is responsible for maintaining order in the room to escort the 78-year-old Texas legislator.
“The chair, which has discovered that its members continue to be involved in the intentional, coordinated chaos of proper, polite decoration, is instructing the sergeant to restore order,” Johnson said. “I’ll remove this gentleman from the room.”
Green, who called for Trump’s bounce each during his first term during his Republican in office, told reporters he was worthy of his point, whether he was punished by House leaders or even if lawmakers were called to be condemned.
“The president said he had a mandate, so he made it clear that there was no mandate to cut Medicaid,” Green told reporters, referring to a healthcare program used primarily by 80 million low-income Americans.
Medicaid has been a key issue for Democrats who fear potential funding cuts under Republican leadership.
“It’s worth letting people know that there are some of us who are planning on facing this president,” Green said.
The green explosion set the tone of an uneasy evening as it is now a minority, sitting quietly on one side of the room and quietly on the other Republican.
Some Democrats aim to attract attention to policies they believed would help them regain their majority by holding signs with messages like “Save Medicaid” and “Protect Veterans.”
Some other Democrats have found a modest way to show their protest in pink clothing, a collective fashion choice.
Several women, including former chairman of former Nancy Pelosi, dressed in that shade for the Republican president’s speech, created a show of unity and solidarity in a room dominated by blue and grey suits.
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