A group of House Democrats had been planning to disrupt President Donald Trump’s speech with a protest of their own, but their efforts may have been shut down by party leadership. Earlier this week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and his top deputies issued guidance instructing Democrats to remain silent during Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday night.
Instead of staging a demonstration, lawmakers were encouraged to bring guests who had been “harmed” by the administration’s actions in its first six weeks—including individuals among the tens of thousands laid off from the federal government.
Many Democrats embraced the recommendation, planning to escort former government employees onto the House floor, where they would have the opportunity to stare down President Trump during his speech. However, for some, that gesture wasn’t enough. A more combative faction within the caucus had reportedly been preparing to actively disrupt the address, according to a source frustrated with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ call for a silent protest instead. “The part that we all agree on is that this is not business as usual and we would like to find a way — productively — to express our outrage,” one House Democrat told Axios.
There is a stark divide between Jeffries’ approach and what some Democrats view as a sufficient act of protest, the report said. One Democratic lawmaker suggested to the outlet that members may stand and leave the chamber during Trump’s speech if he touches on certain controversial topics. They warned that any mention of transgender children by Trump could prompt a mass walkout in protest.
Some members have considered more disruptive tactics, including the use of noisemaking devices like hand clappers during Trump’s speech. Others have looked to Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s (D-MI) protest during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s congressional address last year as a model—when she held up a handmade sign reading “war criminal,” according to Axios.
Some Democrats have pushed for the use of props, such as empty egg cartons, to highlight the high cost of living facing Americans. However, during a closed-door meeting and discussions on the House floor Monday night, lawmakers were explicitly discouraged from bringing props to Trump’s speech, sources told Axios.
Despite this, some Democrats are pushing back, arguing that such gestures are necessary to appease frustrated constituents in their deep-blue districts. “There are definitely a lot of constituents that really want Democrats to disrupt and there are … constituents who feel like that just plays into his hands,” one House Democrat told Axios.