# Can a congress person be escorted out of a SOTU address for heckling? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-congress-person-be-escorted-out-of-a-sotu-address-for-heckling/960422 "2022-03-03T18:22:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-congress-person-be-escorted-out-of-a-sotu-address-for-heckling/960422/21 "2022-03-04T20:51:21Z")
Here’s a story in March 2 HuffPost that tangentially bears on this: It does not bear on any ability to remove members from the floor, but does indicate that the House may make rules that will bar members from entering. In the case here, several Democrats were barred from attending SOTU because they had tested positive to COVID, and several Republicans were barred because they refused to get tested: > **[6 Lawmakers Barred From SOTU After Testing Positive For COVID](https://news.yahoo.com/6-lawmakers-barred-state-union-153254001.html)** > > A testing requirement to attend the event resulted in at least six Democrats testing positive for the virus and at least six Republicans refusing to get tested. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-congress-person-be-escorted-out-of-a-sotu-address-for-heckling/960422/22 "2022-03-04T21:47:50Z")
[Moderating] > [@Bootb](#): > > And now we know who doesn’t bother to pay attention to the news. The level of snark there was uncalled for. Not everyone, indeed, follows the news, and even those who do, don’t read every story. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-congress-person-be-escorted-out-of-a-sotu-address-for-heckling/960422/23 "2022-03-04T21:51:01Z")
[Pedantic nitpick] > [@Senegoid](#): > > There certainly were consequences. Pelosi shot him a look that would have melted solid neutronium. Even at zero temperature (which, surprisingly, is an excellent approximation for real neutron stars), neutronium is never solid. It’s always not only fluid but superfluid, with zero viscosity (though it’s not precisely “liquid”). ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-congress-person-be-escorted-out-of-a-sotu-address-for-heckling/960422/24 "2022-03-04T21:53:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > . . . neutronium is never solid. Okay, Pelosi shot him a look that would have vaporized superfluid neutronium. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2022, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-congress-person-be-escorted-out-of-a-sotu-address-for-heckling/960422/25 "2022-03-04T22:12:51Z")
I always liked P. G. Wodehouse’s “an eye that could open an oyster at sixty paces.” ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-congress-person-be-escorted-out-of-a-sotu-address-for-heckling/960422/26 "2022-03-05T01:21:07Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > there’s technically no requirement that he give the state of the union as a speech. Jefferson submitted his in writing, and if I recall correctly, that remained the tradition until Woodrow Wilson Following up on my earlier point, I can imagine a President stopping mid sentence, turning to look at the Speaker and saying (presuming the Speaker is from the other party): “You know what? You can just read this. When your members learn to act like professionals, I’ll return.” Giving the state of the union on national TV is just political theater. If a president thought that walking out midway through due to disgust with the conduct of the opposing party would have a tangible benefit with the electorate, there’s no prohibition from doing so. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-congress-person-be-escorted-out-of-a-sotu-address-for-heckling/960422/27 "2022-03-05T01:39:25Z")
Didn’t the Republicans make a big fuss when Nancy Pelosi “disrespected” Trump’s SOTU by tearing up her copy while he was making it? I guess it’s okay for them, but not for others? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2022, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-congress-person-be-escorted-out-of-a-sotu-address-for-heckling/960422/28 "2022-03-05T05:12:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Even at zero temperature (which, surprisingly, is an excellent approximation for real neutron stars) Maybe it is something for another thread but I want to know more. How do they glow? How do some emit energy (like a pulsar) if they are zero degrees? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-congress-person-be-escorted-out-of-a-sotu-address-for-heckling/960422.md?page=1)