Democratic Sen. Padilla is forcefully removed from Noem's news conference on immigration raids and handcuffed
Democratic senators quickly gathered in the chamber, denouncing the treatment of their colleague — a well-liked and respected senator — and urged Americans to understand what was happening.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Trump is making this country “look more and more like a fascist state.”
“Will any Republican senator speak up for our democracy?” Warren pleaded.
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., called on Noem to resign, saying that there was no justification for Padilla's treatment and that the Trump administration needed to be held accountable.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., accused Padilla of “charging” Noem and indicated that the behavior “rises to the level of a censure.”
“My view is it was wildly inappropriate,” Johnson, a Trump ally, told reporters outside the House chamber as Democrats walking past shouted over him, “That’s a lie!”
“A sitting member of Congress should not act like that,” Johnson said, loudly speaking over reporters’ questions. “It’s beneath a member of Congress. It’s beneath the U.S. senator.”
Senate Republican leader John Thune said he has spoken to Padilla and is trying to reach Noem but hasn't yet connected with her.
“We want to get the full scope of what happened and do what we would do in any incident like this involving a senator and try to gather all the relevant information,” the South Dakota senator said.
The No. 2 Republican, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, said that he was unaware of what happened but that Padilla should have been at work in Washington.
The stark incident comes as Congress faces increasing episodes of encroachment on its authority. As a coequal branch of the U.S. government, the Trump administration is exerting its executive powers in untested ways.
As part of their work in Congress, lawmakers are responsible for providing oversight of the administration, its agencies and actions.
Several senators and representatives have been exercising their oversight roles by surveying the treatment of immigrants and others being detained as part of the Trump administration’s mass deportation operation.
From the steps of the U.S. Capitol, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said what happened to Padilla “was un-American” and those involved must be held accountable.
“This is not going to end until there is accountability and until the Trump administration changes its behavior,” he said.
Advertising by Adpathway
