Since the 2024 election, Democrats have struggled to revamp and rebrand their messaging style after historically blue voting blocs trended toward Trump. Many voters, and even some members, have criticized Democrats for being out of touch with working-class people, and several in the caucus have argued that it is time for the Democratic Party to return to populist politics.

Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday was one of the Democrats’ first tests to present a unified front since the GOP took the trifecta on Jan. 20. Jeffries urged his caucus to have a “dignified Democratic presence in the chamber” and not cause a spectacle.

While most of the party remained silent or held up protest signs, a handful of Democrats disrupted the proceedings by yelling at the president or storming out of the House chamber.

The theatrics extended into Thursday, after a few Democrats started yelling at Republicans in the chamber during and after the censure of Rep. Al Green (D-TX). GOP lawmakers repeatedly asked for “order” but failed to rein in the battling members, so the House went into recess while the arguments continued.

Green was censured after his cane-waving outburst in which he yelled “You have no mandate” at Trump. After repeated admonishments from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), the Sergeant at Arms escorted Green from the chamber.

Besides Green, a handful of Democrats protested the speech by exiting the chamber and removing their jackets, revealing shirts that said “Resist” or “No kings live here” on the back. Among them were Reps. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA).

But Jeffries is looking to turn the page on Democratic dramatics, claiming that Trump’s strategy of non-stop executive actions and announcements isn’t working.

“This flood-the-zone strategy is designed to disorient people. I ain’t going to be disoriented,” Jeffries said, noting the White House is trying to create “the appearance of inevitability.”

“The notion that Donald Trump is unstoppable — He ain’t unstoppable,” Jeffries said at his weekly press conference.

He added that the GOP censure resolution against Green was “political and partisan games” meant “to disorient and to distract” from their lack of work on the economy and recent court battles. He said Democrats will continue to push back with “righteous indignation.”

“I’m not going to be disoriented,” Jeffries added. “We are going to push back successfully, and the American people will win.”

It may be difficult to put the drama to rest. The House Freedom Caucus announced on Thursday, shortly after the Green censure vote, that it filed a resolution to strip Green from his committee assignments. The hard-line conservative group said they expect Johnson to bring the resolution to the floor for a vote next week.

“Green was censured in a bipartisan vote but he needs real consequences to demonstrate that no one gets to disrupt the People’s business in lame attempts to derail President Trump’s agenda,” the caucus said in a post.

DEMOCRATIC PROTESTS OF TRUMP ADDRESS DEFY JEFFRIES REQUEST FOR ‘DIGNIFIED’ RESPONSE

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) is also looking to strip the committee assignments from the Democrats who yelled at GOP lawmakers on the House floor, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA).

“If you want to act like a child in the Halls of Congress, you will be treated like a child,” Ogles said. “There must be accountability. The American people deserve better than petty, juvenile stunts in one of the most sacred chambers of government.”