WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump used his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday to unveil a new member of the U.S. Secret Service — a 13-year-old brain cancer survivor named DJ.
Trump said the boy, DJ Daniel, who was dressed in a Houston police uniform and sitting with his father in the gallery of the House of Representatives for the speech, had always dreamed of becoming a police officer.
“In 2018 DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago,” Trump said, to loud applause from the room.
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Since then, Trump said, DJ had been sworn in as an honorary law enforcement officer a number of times.
“Police departments love him. And tonight, DJ, we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service.”
The boy’s eyes grew wide with surprise and his father lifted him up. Curran handed him what appeared to be a Secret Service credential, which the boy held up for the crowd to see, and then promptly put his arms around Curran’s shoulders in a hug.
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Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington