Texas Rep. Al Green’s public showing of disapproval at President Donald Trump during his address to Congress continued to rumble on Capitol Hill Wednesday as lawmakers argued over the incident that one Republican said appeared to be a “continued, premediated attack.”
Green’s protest Tuesday night unfolded as he forcefully waved his cane, which prompted House Speaker Mike Johnson to order the sergeant-at-arms to remove Green from the chamber — and a floor debate the following day over whether to formally discipline him.
But it wasn’t Green who was responsible for a “violation of dignity and decorum” of the House chamber — it was President Donald Trump, according to Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), who scoffed at what he said amounted to manufactured outrage surrounding Green’s protest.
“He gave one of the most bitter, angry divisive speeches ever delivered in this room. No vision, no solutions, just grievance, after grievance after grievance,” McGovern said Wednesday in a fiery House floor speech.
He added: “It was 90 minutes of pure propaganda, it made me sick. Zero ideas to fix the egg shortage, zero solutions for inflation…zero about caring for our veterans – he didn’t even mention them.”
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But Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA) had a different take on the Tuesday night confrontation, which he called a “continued, premeditated attack, and some might even say the appearance of a violent and threatening action with the cane.”
He added in his floor speech that while that may not have been Green’s intent, it was a scene “beneath the dignity of this House, beneath the dignity of the American people, and certainly beneath the dignity of our president.”
McGovern seized the opportunity to fire back at Baumgartner just moments later.
“If he thinks that was the most offensive thing that occurred on the House floor last night, then I don't think he was paying attention to the speech that was being given by the President of the United States,” the Massachusetts Democrat said. “Go back and reread it.”
He added of Trump’s speech: “In all my years, I have never ever witnessed anything as partisan and as divisive as that.”
Watch the clip below or at this link:
McGovern: There has been a lot of outrage in this chamber about an interruption last night. Well, you know what, I agree that there was a violation of dignity and decorum of this chamber. And it came from the podium where Donald Trump was standing. pic.twitter.com/sinLIpykzL
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 5, 2025