(Headline USA) Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas wasn’t the first lawmaker ever to blurt out a shout of protest during a presidential address to Congress.
But he’s perhaps the only one in recent memory to actually be ejected from the hall Tuesday night by the Speaker of the House.
Green said afterward it was worth it to make his point — even if he is punished by House leaders, who later called for the congressman to be censured.
“The president was saying he had a mandate, and I was making it clear that he has no mandate to cut Medicaid,” Green told reporters, referring to the health care program used by 80 million Americans.
“It’s worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this president.”
Green’s outburst came at the start of President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress and immediately set the tone. The night was already uneasy. Stone-faced Democrats, now the minority party, had been sitting silently on one side of the chamber, rambunctious Republicans on the other.
As Green rose to speak, shaking his walking cane at the president, the Republicans drowned him out with muscular chants of “USA! USA!”
Johnson eyed the situation from his perch on the dais behind Trump, appearing hesitant to interrupt the president’s address. But the speaker was shaking his head and clearly desiring decorum in the chamber.
The speaker issued a warning for order, banging the gavel. “Take your seat, sir!” But the long-serving congressman remained standing. And then Johnson ordered the Sergeant at Arms to restore order by removing Green from the chamber.
Johnson said afterward that Green should be censured by the House — among the more severe reprimands his colleagues could mete out.
“He’s made history in a terrible way,” Johnson told reporters afterward.
“If they want to make a 77-year-old heckling congressman the face of their resistance, if that’s the Democrat Party, so be it,” Johnson said. “But we will not tolerate it on the House floor.”
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
