Roughly a dozen House Democrats are talking about a wide range of ways to protest President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress on Tuesday, including disrupting the speech itself.
Some of these strategies go beyond what their leaders told them to do, which was to bring in guests who are hurt by Trump and DOGE. At this point, the more aggressive anti-Trump wing of the party could clash with the more traditionalist members of it, Axios noted.
“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 are many different ideas among Democrats, both inside and outside of Congress, about what the best and most appropriate way to protest would be. Lawmakers told Axios that some members have told their coworkers that they might leave the chamber when Trump says certain things that they don’t like.
A Democrat in the House said that criticizing transgender kids was brought up as an issue that could make people leave the meeting.
Axios reported that props and noisemakers have also been floated:
Signs with anti-Trump or anti-DOGE messages — just as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) held up a sign during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech last year that said “war criminal.”
Eggs or empty egg cartons to highlight how inflation is driving up the price of eggs.
Pocket constitutions to make the case that Trump has been violating the Constitution by shutting down congressionally authorized agencies.
Hand clappers, red cards like those held up to express disagreement at town halls, and various other props have also been discussed.
Two Democrats in the House told Axios that lawmakers were told not to use props in meetings behind closed doors and on the House floor Monday night.
There is also a lot of disagreement among Democrats in the House about these strategies, mostly because of what they’ve heard in their 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.
There are groups of Democrats who want to hold more traditional protests by matching their clothes to the protests.
The Democratic Women’s Caucus wants all of its members to wear pink to show support for a president that many of them dislike.
Axios noted:
Black: Female members of the Congressional Black Caucus have separately discussed donning black to more accurately capture the party’s somber mood.
Blue and yellow: Ukraine Caucus co-chair Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) will distribute ties and scarves with the colors of Ukraine’s flag to signal support for President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Others plan to sit stone-faced and refuse to clap during the entire speech, another time-honored tactic for opposition party members to silently protest the president.
In a letter to Democrats, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said that he and other leaders would be at the speech to “make clear to the nation that there is a strong opposition party ready, willing, and able to serve as a check and balance.”
Several members have said they plan to skip the speech, which Jeffries said was fine with the leadership. However, he called for a “strong, determined, and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber.”
House Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) told Axios leadership is telling members to “keep the focus on the health and safety and the economic wellbeing of our constituents.”
“Whether we are wearing pink, or black, or yellow and blue, we are all conveying our displeasure with this administration,” said. Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.).
“What’s more important is our work together and the pressure for three Republicans to do the right thing for everyone,” she said.