“You Have No Mandate!” Congressional Democrats Protest Trump’s Speech

Congressional Democrats, including Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) held up signs to protest President Trump’s speech to Congress on Monday night.Win Mcnamee/Pool/CNP/ZUMA

Congressional Democrats’ resistance to President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress began when he first started to speak.

During the opening moments of the president’s speech, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), stood, yelled, and shook his cane at Trump. Green’s actions prompted Vice President JD Vance to appear to mouth “get him out,” and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to interrupt Trump’s speech. He admonished members, urging them to “uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions.”

“That’s your warning,” he added before ordering Green to take his seat.

After he appeared to refuse, Johnson told the Sergeant-at-Arms to remove the Democratic lawmaker from the chamber, prompting massive cheers from Republicans. “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” Green yelled at Trump, pointing his cane at the president, before being removed. He was referring to the Trump-backed Republican budget resolution that would likely cut the health insurance program serving low-income people if enacted.

House Speaker Mike Johnson ejects Rep. Al Green (D-TX) from President Donald Trump’s speech for not sitting down. pic.twitter.com/zsxIAGjaAg

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) March 5, 2025

But that didn’t stop other congressional Democrats from continuing to protest.

Cameras panned to a group of several Democrats—including Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)—holding up signs that said “false,” “Musk steals,” and “save Medicaid.” Tlaib also held a whiteboard with “That’s a lie” written in marker. At times, Democrats also vocally protested Trump’s lies or mischaracterizations: Some shouted “January 6” when Trump talked about law and order, given that he incited the insurrection and then pardoned nearly 1,600 participants—including those who violently assaulted law enforcement officials—on his first day in office; others yelled out “lies!” when Trump reiterated false claims about massive fraud within Social Security.

Meanwhile, Republicans continued to rise and cheer at each of Trump’s subsequent pronouncements.

Frost and several other Democrats, including Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), left the chamber before Trump finished speaking. “My shirt showed Trump an important message: NO KINGS LIVE HERE,” Frost wrote in a post on Bluesky. “In the spirit of student protestors from the Civil Rights Movement, I’m proud to have protested and walked out with many of my colleagues. This is NOT a normal time.”

Other protests were more subtle. Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, for instance, wore pink, with several saying they were doing so to draw attention to how Trump’s policies—including potential cuts to Medicaid and SNAP and the imposition of tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China on Tuesday, which economists say will raise prices for consumers—were harming women and families. “Women can’t afford Trump,” Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) posted on X before the speech. “We can’t afford eggs, we can’t afford attacks on our health care, and we can’t afford the discrimination and abuse by his administration.”

As a member of the @DemWomenCaucus, I’m wearing pink to protest Trump betraying women and families for his billionaire buddies.

Women can’t afford Trump. We can’t afford eggs, we can’t afford attacks on our health care, and we can’t afford the discrimination and abuse by his… pic.twitter.com/qZYeb3IZtb

— Rep. Doris Matsui (@DorisMatsui) March 4, 2025

Some lawmakers—including Pressley, Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.), Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), and several others—brought federal workers who lost their jobs due to mass firings enacted by unelected billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) chose to express their opposition to the administration by boycotting the event entirely. Ocasio-Cortez posted on Bluesky throughout the address and said she would host a discussion on Instagram Live after.

Correction, March 5: Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-Mich.) name was misspelled in an earlier version of this article.