California Democrats are calling for committee hearings and an investigation into how Sen. Alex Padilla was treated by federal agents when he was forcibly removed from a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The incident occurred at a press conference Thursday in Los Angeles. It immediately captured the attention of the rest of the California congressional delegation in Washington, which quickly mobilized to respond.
“To see him abused that way … to be mishandled that way, this is an assault not only on the person of Alex Padilla, but it is an assault on our democracy,” Sen. Adam Schiff told reporters outside the Senate before giving a floor speech on the matter. “There ought to be an investigation of the conduct of those officers.”
He added that members are still “in some state of shock” over Thursday’s debacle.
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Padilla demanded accountability afterwards. Republicans, who brushed off concerns about the incident, control the agenda on Capitol Hill. But some of Padilla’s Democratic colleagues have called for congressional involvement in the matter anyway.
“Kristi Noem needs to come to our committee and answer questions,” Rep. Eric Swalwell, who serves on the House Committee on Homeland Security, told reporters at a gathering of California Democrats outside the Capitol.
Following the press conference, Noem told CNN she met with Padilla and had a “productive” conversation about DHS’s dealings with the recent protests in Los Angeles. But she added that “people need to identify themselves before they start lunging at people during press conferences.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared the video of Padilla Thursday on X, saying he should be “ashamed of his childish behavior.”
“He crashed the middle of an official press conference being held by a cabinet secretary, recklessly lunged toward the podium where @Sec_Noem was speaking, and then refused to leave the room and follow the directions of law enforcement officers,” Leavitt posted.
Padilla, meanwhile, said he was there to ask questions, and began to do so before he was pushed out of the room.
“It is a crime to lay your hands on a federal official,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar, who added that he thought they had stopped Padilla in an effort to keep Noem from having to answer questions. “That’s what happened today.”
Lawmakers were clearly outraged at what had happened, and called for people to protest.
“The way we hold this administration accountable is for the American people to peacefully rise up and exercise your rights to make your voices heard,” Rep. Ted Lieu said.
The Los Angeles area has been the site of some of the biggest protests against the Trump administration’s immigration raids, and is where the president mobilized National Guard and Marine forces in recent days.
The video of Padilla getting pushed out of the briefing room and then handcuffed was jarring for lawmakers, who warned that it’s a sign that democracy is slipping.
“It had me thinking: Is this what it felt like to be in Germany in 1933? This is not the end, I’m afraid, but the beginning of the outrageous, lawless action being undertaken by this administration,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren said to reporters.
This isn’t the first time a member of Congress has had a physical skirmish with federal agents during Trump’s second administration. At least one other Democrat, Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey, has also had a confrontation. She was indicted this week following a dispute outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Newark last month. McIver has said she is not guilty.
“To see a United States senator handcuffed with his arms behind his back is not a thing that I ever thought I’d see in the United States of America,” Rep. George Whitesides said of the Padilla incident.
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had a similar reaction.
“Don’t ask questions because you’ll probably get beaten up. It’s called a ‘Thug-ocracy,’” Pelosi said.
Others saw it as another sign of how hyper-partisan politics have gotten.
“I’m all about bringing this place together, but it’s hard when this happens,” Rep. Scott Peters told NOTUS. “No one stands up against it on their side and no one apologizes for what happens.”
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Amelia Benavides-Colón and Samuel Larreal are NOTUS reporters and Allbritton Journalism Institute fellows. Haley Byrd Wilt contributed reporting.
This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS and San José Spotlight.
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