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U.S. President Donald Trump appointed 13-year-old Devarjaye DJ Daniel as an honorary member of the Secret Service during his joint address to Congress on Tuesday night (March 4).
According to the New York Post's report, Devarjaye DJ Daniel is a brain cancer survivor from Houston. After multiple brain surgeries, the young boy is now cancer-free. He was present in the Capitol building's House chamber on Tuesday with his father, Theodis.
Donald Trump addressed the boy, who wore a police officer outfit, by talking about his battle with brain cancer, and his dream of becoming a police officer. The President said:
"He has always dreamed of becoming a police officer. But 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. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true."
Trump continued by ordering Sean Curran, the director of the Secret Service, to make the teenager an honorary member.
"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."
More details on Devarjaye DJ Daniel and his father, Theodis
In the YouTube short clip uploaded by the official YouTube account of the White House, the 13-year-old boy from Houston talked about his 13 brain surgeries. DJ Daniel went on to say the experience made him strong, and he will keep fighting until God calls him. He said:
"I had 13 brain surgeries and that's how many times my personality has changed. That's something that you don't hear from a terminally ill child. 'You have five months to live.' I'm gonna keep on going into my gas tank runs out. And that's when God calls you home. You never know when God's gonna call you home."
On March 5, DJ Daniel's father told Fox News that they weren't informed that the President was planning to appoint his son, and it was all kept a secret. He stated the honor left them both "speechless." He said:
"It left us speechless. I can tell you we weren't expecting that. We didn't even know what was going on. Actually, they kept a secret from us."
Theodis continued by saying that even though their journey was difficult, they hoped it would inspire others through their tragedies.
"We just have to turn something that most of us see as bad and tragic into something positive. We're supposed to be in the business of trying to inspire people to be a better version of themselves despite what you're going through," he said.
According to a March 5 Times Now report, DJ Daniel was appointed an honorary Jasper police officer and received a key to the city in December 2024. Since then, he has received similar honors from Mansfield, Lake Charles, and Aurora.
