--- title: Who Was the Protesting Lawmaker Ejected From Trump’s Speech? description: Here’s what to know about Texas Democrat Rep. Al Green. canonical: https://time.com/7264572/al-green-trump-speech-congress-texas-democrat-mandate-protest-removed/ author: Chad de Guzman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-03-05T03:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:50:10.331Z article:section: Politics og:title: Who Was the Protesting Lawmaker Ejected From Trump’s Speech? og:description: Here’s what to know about Texas Democrat Rep. Al Green. og:url: https://time.com/7264572/al-green-trump-speech-congress-texas-democrat-mandate-protest-removed/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc8219358c484630/6998c4a025f3ee3abd6446ba/al-green-joint-session-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Al Green og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Who Was the Protesting Lawmaker Ejected From Trump’s Speech? twitter:description: Here’s what to know about Texas Democrat Rep. Al Green. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc8219358c484630/6998c4a025f3ee3abd6446ba/al-green-joint-session-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What to Know About the Democratic Lawmaker Ejected for Protesting Trump’s Speech ## Video: Watch: Trump’s Speech to Joint Session of Congress [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: Trump’s Speech to Joint Session of Congress](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/207P7S6k.m3u8) (3:20:02)  _Published 2025-03-04. President Donald Trump delivers the first joint congressional address of his second presidency. The address to members of Congress is Trump’s first since he was sworn in as President for the second time on Jan. 20. Presidents typically address a joint session of Congress soon after they take office and use it as an opportunity to go over their agenda._  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Mar 5, 2025 3:00 AM UTC  Rep. Al Green disrupts President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025, and is escorted out. Rep. Al Green disrupts President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025, and is escorted out.J. Scott Applewhite—AP  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Mar 5, 2025 3:00 AM UTC President Donald Trump’s [address before a joint session of Congress](https://time.com/7264098/trump-speech-not-state-of-the-union-history-inauguration-year-address-congress/) on Tuesday night was interrupted in the first few minutes by the repeated heckles of a congressman. As Trump claimed his [sweeping election victory](https://time.com/7171969/presidential-election-results-map-states-called-electoral-college-associated-press/) gave him a mandate that “has not been seen in many decades,” Rep. Al Green (D, Texas) stood and shouted “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” and “He has no mandate!” Green’s protests were initially drowned out by Republicans chanting “USA! USA!” but Green did not relent as Trump tried to continue his speech. Speaker Mike Johnson (R, La.) then interjected, reminding the lawmakers in attendance that they are to uphold and maintain decorum in the House. As Green remained standing and shouting and waving his cane, Johnson eventually ordered the House sergeant-at-arms to remove Green from the chamber—a move some reporters have described as “unprecedented.” Speaking to the press after being escorted out, Green reportedly [said](https://x.com/gardnerakayla/status/1897116049088372871) he was working on articles of impeachment against Trump and didn’t know if he’d face any punishment for his protest during the speech, but he [added](https://x.com/mviser/status/1897115722842824747): “It’s worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up.” ## Who is Al Green? Green, 77, has served as a representative for Texas’ solid-blue 9th congressional district, which covers parts of Greater Houston, since 2005\. He previously worked as a justice of the peace in Harris County. Green has previously earned attention for launching multiple [longshot impeachment attempts](https://www.texastribune.org/2019/07/17/al-greens-third-attempt-impeach-donald-trump-fails/) against Trump during Trump’s first term. In February, Green [said](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/02/05/congress/green-moves-to-impeach-trump-again-00202601) he was again introducing impeachment articles against Trump, after the President’s remarks about [taking over the wartorn Gaza Strip](https://time.com/7212848/trump-gaza-own/). ## How are people reacting? Some have expressed support for the Texas lawmaker. Civil rights organizations National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Voto Latino [each](https://x.com/NAACP/status/1897116844202578336) [posted](https://x.com/votolatino/status/1897113528504602717) on X that they “stand with” Green. Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D, N.Y.) said in a [post on X](https://x.com/JamaalBowmanNY/status/1897113437442072855): “ALL THE DEMS SHOULDVE LEFT WITH AL GREEN!” [Others](https://x.com/krassenstein/status/1897112982397837530) [contrasted](https://x.com/juliaioffe/status/1897111718062698691) the moment with how Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R, Ga.) was treated in [2022](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/gop-reps-greene-boebert-heckle-biden-throughout-sotu-address-n1290558) and [2023](https://time.com/6253881/marjorie-taylor-greene-state-of-the-union-hecklers-biden-ad/), when she heckled then-President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address. “Remember when Marjorie Taylor Greene interrupted Joe Biden’s SOTU address and Joe Biden engaged with her rather than calling a bunch of galoots to escort her, a member of Congress?” [posted](https://x.com/juliaioffe/status/1897111718062698691) Puck journalist Julia Ioffe. “Weird that Marjorie Taylor Greene was never removed when she went off at Biden's SOTU a few years ago,” [posted](https://x.com/krassenstein/status/1897112982397837530) popular political influencer Brian Krassenstein. The Trump Administration’s Rapid Response account on X [posted](https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1897113657894715839) that Green’s “appalling lack of decorum and respect is shameful.” And the President’s son, Don Jr., [posted](https://x.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1897112368397869463) that Green “is the perfect encapsulation of why the Democrat Party has become an embarrassment.” Some on both sides have tried to find humor in the situation. Right-wing media company Breitbart [compared](https://x.com/BreitbartNews/status/1897113467859214547) an image of Green with a _Simpsons_ meme. And Comedy Central’s _The Daily Show_ [posted on X](https://x.com/TheDailyShow/status/1897114366518157752): “Trump: Free speech is back in America \[…\] Rep. Al Green (being shoved into a CIA rendition van): You did what now?” Who Was the Protesting Lawmaker Ejected From Trump’s Speech? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7264572/al-green-trump-speech-congress-texas-democrat-mandate-protest-removed/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7264572/al-green-trump-speech-congress-texas-democrat-mandate-protest-removed/"},"headline":"What to Know About the Democratic Lawmaker Ejected for Protesting Trump’s Speech","datePublished":"2025-03-05T03:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:50:10.331Z","description":"Here’s what to know about Texas Democrat Rep. Al Green.","url":"https://time.com/7264572/al-green-trump-speech-congress-texas-democrat-mandate-protest-removed/","keywords":["Congress","overnight","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc8219358c484630/6998c4a025f3ee3abd6446ba/al-green-joint-session-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chad de Guzman","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc8219358c484630/6998c4a025f3ee3abd6446ba/al-green-joint-session-donald-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Al Green","caption":"Al Green","creditText":"J. Scott Applewhite—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7264572/al-green-trump-speech-congress-texas-democrat-mandate-protest-removed/","name":"What to Know About the Democratic Lawmaker Ejected for Protesting Trump’s Speech"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: Trump’s Speech to Joint Session of Congress","description":"President Donald Trump delivers the first joint congressional address of his second presidency. The address to members of Congress is Trump’s first since he was sworn in as President for the second time on Jan. 20. Presidents typically address a joint session of Congress soon after they take office and use it as an opportunity to go over their agenda.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/207P7S6k/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-03-04T23:06:17.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/207P7S6k.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/7264572/al-green-trump-speech-congress-texas-democrat-mandate-protest-removed/","duration":"PT3H20M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/7264572/al-green-trump-speech-congress-texas-democrat-mandate-protest-removed/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```