President Trump honored 13-year-old cancer survivor Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel by naming him an honorary member of the Secret Service during his address to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
Seated in the House gallery in a police uniform, Daniel beamed as his father lifted him up, celebrating his inspiring fight against cancer, as reported by the New York Post.
“He has always dreamed of becoming a police officer,” the commander in chief explained during his speech. “But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer.”
“The doctors gave him five months at most to live,” Trump added. “That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true.”
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“And tonight, DJ, we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all,” Trump teased before announcing the honor.
“I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States.”
The House chamber erupted in chants of “D-J!” as he was officially made an honorary member of the Secret Service.
Presented with a badge by Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, the 13-year-old cancer survivor proudly waved it, his face filled with surprise and joy.
Trump then pivoted to discuss Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s mission to “get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply and keep our children healthy and strong.”
During his address, Trump lauded law enforcement and re-upped his call to impose a “mandatory death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer,” arguing that he wants cops to be able to “do their job without fear of their lives being totally destroyed.”
In another development during his address, President Trump announced that high school senior Jason Hartley had been admitted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Trump noted that the son of a late Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy had long dreamed of attending the prestigious academy.
“That’s a hard one to get into,” Trump mused. “I’m pleased to inform you your application has been accepted.”
Who is DJ Daniel?
Daniel has been on a quest to be sworn into as many law enforcement agencies as possible. His mission began both as a way to raise awareness of childhood and to honor the legacy of Abigail Arias, a seven-year-old girl who died of lung cancer in 2019 and whose dream was to work in law enforcement one day.
Daniel, from Pearland, Texas, has been sworn in by more than 300 agencies nationwide, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), and the Memphis Police Department (MPD).
At age 10, the Memphis Police Department Training Academy made him an honorary officer. Sgt. Louis Brownlee with the Memphis Police Department said Daniel’s father, Theodis, reached out to the department about his son’s dream. The department decided to help him fulfill it, ABC24 Memphis reported.
Daniel was not just sworn in as an MPD officer, but also a Sheriff’s deputy for multiple Mid-South agencies, a special deputy of the U.S. Marshal’s Service, TBI agent, FBI agent, THP trooper and an officer in several other agencies, WREG reported.
Daniel was diagnosed with metastatic anaplastic ependymoma brain and spine cancer. He became one of three children being raised by a blue-collar single father who is a service-connected disabled military veteran. Since 2018 when Daniel was diagnosed with brain and spine cancer, he has undergone 11 surgeries and other extensive medical procedures, his family said in 2022. His medical diagnosis is terminal and doctors initially gave him five months to live but he began fighting his condition with the help of his family and members of his community.
