U.S. Rep. Al Green (D-TX) is escorted out after shouting during U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., Mar.4, 2025. / Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

U.S. President Donald Trump's speech to Congress on Mar.4 was interrupted within minutes by catcalls from Democratic lawmakers, with one Texas congressman, Al Green, ordered removed from the chamber after he refused to sit down.

"The chair now directs the sergeant at arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman from the chamber," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said after warning Democrats to maintain decorum.

Green, shaking his walking cane at Trump, appeared to be shouting that Trump did not win a mandate in November's election after the president bragged about the Republicans' victories. As he was led from the chamber, some Republicans sang, "Nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, goodbye."

After Green's departure, Trump said, "I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud."

The partisan rancor was reflective of the tumult that has accompanied Trump's first six weeks in office, as he has upended U.S. foreign policy, ignited a trade war with close allies and slashed the federal workforce since he took office six weeks ago.

Trump wasted little time taking a victory lap.

"To my fellow citizens, America is back," Trump began to a standing ovation from fellow Republicans. "Our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again."

The primetime speech, his first to Congress since taking office on January 20, capped a second day of market turmoil after he imposed sweeping new tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China.

Trump spoke in the House of Representatives, where lawmakers huddled in fear for their lives a little over four years ago while a mob of Trump supporters ransacked the Capitol in an unsuccessful effort to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 victory over the then-incumbent Trump.

The president intends to boast about his first month in office, calling it "the most successful" first month of any U.S. presidency in history, according to excerpts released by the White House ahead of the speech.

He will also defend his tariff campaign, despite concerns that it could raise consumer prices and slow economic growth.

"Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them. Whatever they tax us, we tax them," Trump is expected to say. "If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market."

World leaders were watching Trump's speech closely, a day after he paused all military aid to Ukraine. The suspension followed an Oval Office blowup in which Trump angrily upbraided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in front of TV cameras.

The pause in aid threatened Kyiv's efforts to defend against Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion three years ago, and further rattled European leaders worried that Trump is moving the U.S. too far toward Moscow.

While Trump has appeared to fault Ukraine for starting the war, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found 70 percent of Americans - including two-thirds of Republicans - say Russia was more to blame.

Trump's 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, two of the country's closest allies, and an additional 10 percent on Chinese imports deepened investor concerns about the economy. The Nasdaq Composite is down more than 9 percent from its record closing high on Dec.16.

Just one in three Americans approve of Trump's handling of the cost of living, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, a potential danger sign amid worries his tariffs could increase inflation.    

EXECUTIVE POWER

A senior White House official said the theme of Trump's speech is the "renewal of the American dream." The speech is akin to a State of the Union address but not called that in a president's inaugural year.

The official said Trump's topics will include laying out his plans to end the Ukraine war and gain the release of hostages abducted from Israel by Hamas militants and held in Gaza.

Trump is expected to laud his rapid-fire efforts to slash the federal bureaucracy, reduce the flow of migrants over the U.S.-Mexico border and use tariffs to force other nations to bow to his demands.

On the domestic front, Trump is likely to make a case for extending his 2017 tax cuts. Congressional Republicans have advanced a sweeping $4.5 trillion plan that would extend the cuts, tighten border security and fund a huge increase in deportations. 

The proposal calls for $2 trillion in spending reductions over a decade, with possible cuts to education, healthcare and other social services.

Trump has asserted an unprecedented level of executive power, working with Elon Musk - the world's richest person - to jettison more than 100,000 workers across the government despite dozens of lawsuits.

Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has dismantled agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and canceled billions of dollars in foreign aid, including lifesaving medicine and food, that had been authorized by Congress.

Musk was in attendance on Mar.4.

Democrats plan to underscore the harm they say Trump's policies have caused everyday Americans by inviting civil servants hit by DOGE firings or funding freezes to Mar.4's speech.

Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA agent, will deliver the Democratic Party's rebuttal.

First lady Melania Trump was joined at the address by selected guests, including the family of Corey Comperatore, a firefighter killed by the gunman who grazed Trump with a bullet during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July.

Others include Marc Fogel, a history teacher freed from detention in Russia in February.