WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 04: U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025

Democratic lawmakers didn’t have much to smile about during US President Donald Trump’s divisive speech before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, but one moment caused them to laugh openly.

“The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over,” Trump said, referring to his efforts to dismantle large portions of the federal government.

Critics were quick to point to the obvious irony: Trump placed Elon Musk, who was not elected, in charge of that effort.

Musk and his DOGE team have in effect become a shadow bureaucracy, making decisions impacting millions of federal workers, and billions in federal dollars that had been allocated by elected officials in Congress.

Listen to the reaction:

Laughter breaks out after Trump says: The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.

Along with laughter, Trump’s speech had other forms of disruption. Representative Al Green (Democrat Texas) was kicked out of the event for challenging him on Medicaid. Others engaged in more of a silent protest, such as turning their backs on Trump and walking out, or holding up signs saying things such as “false” and “This is NOT normal.”

But the claim about “unelected bureaucrats” may have led to one of the biggest reactions of the night from Trump’s critics both in the chamber and online:

Trump: “The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.”What about unelected billionaire shadow president, Elon Musk?

Trump said, "The days of being ruled by unelected bureaucrats is over."Meanwhile, shadow president and unelected........

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