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From cheers to protests, here's a look inside the chamber during Trump's speech

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From cheers to protests, here's a look inside the chamber during Trump's speech

President Trump arrives to address a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol.

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President Trump delivered an address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday that drew Republican applause and silence and protest from Democrats as he outlined key actions taken during his first six weeks in office.

In the speech — Trump’s first address to Congress in his second term — the president touted his 2024 election win before ticking through a laundry list of actions he’s taken since his inauguration, including ending foreign aid, banning trans athletes from participating in school sports and enacting sweeping cuts to the size of the federal government through the “DOGE” initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk.

President Trump arrives to address a joint session of Congress at the Capitol.

President Trump arrives to address a joint session of Congress at the Capitol.

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First Lady Melania Trump (center) waves as she attends US President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the Capitol.

First Lady Melania Trump (center) waves as she attends US President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the Capitol.

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Trump opened by telling lawmakers that “America is back,” and closed by saying that “the Golden Age of America has only just begun.”

Partisan divisions were on display as Republican lawmakers gave Trump frequent standing ovations, while Democrats sat stone faced, held signs and walked out of the chamber in protest. That mirrors divisions among the U.S. population, which is split on the direction Trump’s changes and controversial agenda are moving the country, according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, left, shouts as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, left, shouts as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol.

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Representative Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) listens as US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress.

Representative Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) listens as US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress.

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Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green was removed from the House chamber after heckling Trump early in the speech, standing and yelling that Trump did not have a mandate. Green first received a warning from House Speaker Mike Johnson, and when he did not stop he was escorted out by what appeared to be Sergeant at Arms staff.

Other lawmakers protested more quietly: Dozens of Democratic congresswomen wore pink to the speech as part of a coordinated response. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., who chairs the Democratic Women’s Caucus, told TIME Magazine that the “signal our protest of Trump’s policies which are negatively impacting women and families.”

“Pink is a color of power and protest,” Leger Fernández told TIME. “It’s time to rev up the opposition and come at Trump loud and clear.”

Democratic members of Congress listen as President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol.

Democratic members of Congress listen as President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol.

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Representative Maxwell Frost, Democrat from Florida, wears a shirt reading "No kings live here" as he walks out of the House Chamber while US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress.

Representative Maxwell Frost, Democrat from Florida, wears a shirt reading “No kings live here” as he walks out of the House Chamber while US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress.

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Several Democrats walked out of the speech, turning their back on Trump wearing shirts that read “Resist” and “No kings live here.” Others held up signs reading “False,” “Protect Medicaid,” and “Musk Steals,” throughout Trump’s remarks.

Republican lawmakers, who have coalesced behind Trump’s agenda in his second term, were consistently supportive of his speech, which leaned heavily into themes about immigration and crime.

President Trump holds a signed executive order that renames a wildlife sanctuary in honor of late Jocelyn Nungaray during a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol.

President Trump holds a signed executive order that renames a wildlife sanctuary in honor of late Jocelyn Nungaray during a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol.

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13-year-old cancer survivor Devarjaye "DJ" Daniel is lifted up by his father Theodis Daniel after President Trump made him an honorary member of the US Secret Service during his address to a joint session of Congress.

13-year-old cancer survivor Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel is lifted up by his father Theodis Daniel after President Trump made him an honorary member of the US Secret Service during his address to a joint session of Congress.

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Trump also recognized some of the White House’s guests in attendance, including the mother and sister of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed last year by a man who was in the country illegally; and 13-year-old DJ Daniel, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018 and has been sworn in as an honorary law enforcement officer. During his speech, Trump asked his Secret Service Director to make Daniel an honorary secret service agent.

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Border patrol agent Roberto Ortiz, from left, looks on as Lauren Phillips and Allyson Phillips, family members of the late Laken Riley, watch as President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress.

Border patrol agent Roberto Ortiz, from left, looks on as Lauren Phillips and Allyson Phillips, family members of the late Laken Riley, watch as President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress.

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President Trump arrives for a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the Capitol.

President Trump arrives for a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the Capitol.

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Trump fires last members of election commission, inciting fears of midterm ‘chaos’

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Trump fires last members of election commission, inciting fears of midterm ‘chaos’

Donald Trump has terminated the remaining members of the independent, federal commission that assists election administration officials nationwide just a few months before the midterm elections, multiple outlets reported Thursday.

The remaining three commissioners of the four-member bipartisan commission ⁠were forced out on Thursday in different ways. The one Republican appointee resigned and the other ⁠two, Democratic appointees were notified of their terminations via email from ​the White House presidential personnel office.

“On ‌behalf of President ‌Donald J Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position ‌as Commissioner of the Election Assistance Commission is terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” the email, seen by Reuters, said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Election Assistance Commission serves as a “national clearinghouse of information on election ‌administration”, accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, and maintains the national mail-voter registration form developed by the National ​Voter Registration Act of 1993, according to the commission’s website. The terminations follow Trump and top administration officials’ advocacy to change vote-by-mail requirements and investigations into the 2020 election outcome, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

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“It is ⁠irresponsible and dangerous that this Administration remains dead set on ​causing chaos for ​our election officials across this ​country,” Arizona secretary of state Adrian Fontes said in a ​Thursday statement. “This ‌move undermines the integrity ​of nonpartisan ​election administration.”

The 2002 law that established the commission, the Help America Vote Act, states the president can appoint replacements to the commission.

It is unclear how Trump will move ahead with the commission.

Reuters contributed reporting

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Former Olympian pleads not guilty in reflecting pool vandalism charges

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Former Olympian pleads not guilty in reflecting pool vandalism charges

Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn (left) walks with his attorney Norman Eisen to speak to reporters and protesters gathered after his arraignment at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

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Former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty to damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in D.C. Superior Court Thursday morning.

Federal prosecutors charged Hearn with a single count of destruction of property causing more than $1,000 in damage to the pool.

Hearn has previously claimed, which his attorneys repeated during a short press conference outside the court, that he simply touched the water in the pool out of curiosity.

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The Trump administration had just completed a $14 million renovation of the pool.

But shortly after the work finished, peeling paint and algae gathered in the water. The remodel has been largely criticized as a massive failure and waste of taxpayer dollars.

Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean released Hearn on his own recognizance. His next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 5.

Norm Eisen, one of Hearn’s attorneys, spoke to reporters outside of court following the hearing. He said the administration is using Hearn as a “scapegoat … for their own failures.”

“It is not a crime to touch the reflecting pool, to touch water in the United States of America,” he said.

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Prosecutors say there is a host of evidence against Hearn.

This is a developing story.

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Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump’s multimillion-dollar restoration | CNN Politics

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Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump’s multimillion-dollar restoration | CNN Politics

Three more people have been criminally charged with destruction of property at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Officers say they detained Cameron Thiers, Sophie Dennison-Gibby and Justin Carreno one Saturday afternoon in June and described in court documents witnessing them peeling and removing pieces of blue paint from the Reflecting Pool.

One officer “witnessed Carreno reach down into the reflecting pool and pull up a piece of the blue paint,” according to the court documents.

The officer who detained Dennison-Gibby “found 1 additional piece of the reflecting pool liner” in her purse, the documents said.

All three incidents were recorded on the officers’ body worn cameras, they said in the court documents.

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Several “partnering law enforcement agencies assigned to the Reflecting Pool” working with US Park Police were involved in detaining the two men and one woman — including officers from Texas, Oklahoma, Montana and California.

One of the officers said in court documents that Thiers “admitted to removing a piece of blue sealant from the Reflecting Pool and still had it in his hand when I made contact with him.”

The three defendants were arraigned in court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges of destruction of property with a value less than $1,000. The judge ordered them to stay away from the Reflecting Pool.

Lawyers for Thiers and Dennison-Gibby declined to comment. CNN has reached out to Carreno’s attorney.

If found guilty of destruction of property, the defendants could be fined up to $1,000 and face a maximum of 180 days behind bars.

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The New York Times first reported that three additional people had been charged with damaging the Reflecting Pool.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that vandals caused major damage to the pool by gashing the lining after his administration spent more than $14 million on renovations, though he has not provided evidence to support that claim. The officers who charged Carreno, Thiers and Dennison-Gibby did not accuse them of gashing the lining.

Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn was indicted by a grand jury in Washington, DC, last week for allegedly damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn — unlike Carreno, Thiers and Dennison-Gibby – was charged with destruction of property with a value of more than $1,000 which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, if convicted. He is set to be arraigned in court Thursday.

Crews began draining the Reflecting Pool over the weekend to make repairs, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, for the second time in three months.

The move comes after weeks of problems – algae blooms, green-hued water, a chipping bottom and the administration’s allegations of vandalism – that have plagued the iconic landmark, making its woes the subject of national interest.

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