Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas is earning praise online after delivering perhaps the most dramatic moment of U.S. President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.
Green interrupted the speech, shaking his cane at Trump and shouting that the president had "no mandate to cut Medicaid." He was led out of the chamber by the sergeant-at-arms after being told to sit down by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), as Republicans cheered. Speaking to reporters after he was escorted out, Green said that he was protesting Trump's efforts to cut federal government programs, including Medicaid, according to The Hill.
"Al Green understood the assignment," wrote Sam Weinberg, the executive director of the progressive group Path to Progress, on Bluesky on Tuesday. Ezra Levin, the co-founder of the grassroots group Indivisible, similarly said: "Al Green stood up. Would like to see more people stand up."
"EVERY DEMOCRAT SHOULD BE EXACTLY LIKE THIS!!! RESPECT TO AL GREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" posted the leftist Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, on X.
Former Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) wrote "Al Green!" and added that all the Democrats in the room should have left with him.
The New York Times reported that Green's act was a show of protest not only against Trump, but also congressional Democratic Party leaders who had asked Democrats to attend the speech but not disrupt it.
During the address, other Democrats sat through the speech and raised signs with messages such as "Save Medicaid" and "Musk Steals." According to Reuters, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) and others turned their backs as Trump spoke, revealing messages on the backs of their shirts like "No Kings live here," before exiting.
While threats to Medicaid were the central focus of Green's protests, Republicans' targeting of the program did not feature in Trump's speech—during which he boasted about gutting climate initiatives, ending the "tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies," and peddled the falsehood that Social Security benefits are being paid out out on a large scale to people who have been dead for years.
Last week, House Republicans were able to pass a budget resolution that tees up passing trillions of dollars in tax cuts, a move that will almost certainly be paid for by slashing social programs like Medicaid and nutrition assistance.
The resolution instructs the House Energy and Commerce Committee to "submit changes in laws within its jurisdiction to reduce the deficit by not less than" $880 billion over the next decade. That panel has jurisdiction over Medicaid, which the GOP has repeatedly targeted in public and private discussions, with one leaked document floating over $2 trillion in cuts to the program.
Republicans also rejected numerous Democratic amendments that would have prevented Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cuts in the upcoming budget reconciliation process as their resolution moved through committees.
Watch video of the incident below or at this link.