Padilla has ‘serious questions' for Noem after he was dragged from press conference: ‘How does she not know the senator from California?'

Independent

11 hours ago

Sen. Alex Padilla of California said that he has serious questions for Kristi Noem after Secret Service and FBI agents forcibly pinned him to the ground and handcuffed him after he tried to ask the Homeland Security Secretary a question during a press conference in Los Angeles.
Padilla spoke to Dana Bash on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday and responded to some in the Democratic Party who have called for Noem's resignation.
'That's maybe not my focus right now,' Padilla said. 'But I do think there's some serious questions, how does the cabinet secretary not know the senator from California when she steps foot into Los Angeles? She came to the Senate at one point.'
The incident happened when Noem came to Los Angeles after President Donald Trump had deployed the National Guard into California without the consent of Governor Gavin Newsom as well as U.S. Marines.
The deployment came after protesters pushed back against raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which, at times, led to the destruction of property, such as setting WayMo self-driving vehicles on fire.
Noem said at the press conference the Trump administration came to 'liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership.'
Padilla, who has a Senate office in the same building, introduced himself and said 'I am Senator Alex Padilla, I have questions for the secretary' which directly contradicted what Homeland Security later said. Padilla had criticized the fact that the administration had used half a dozen violent criminals to rationalize the large-scale mass deportations and raids it has conducted.
That led to agents pushing back against him, throwing him out of the press conference, pinning him down and handcuffing him.
During his interview with CNN, Padilla said that Homeland Security's actions have consequences.
'How does Secretary of Homeland Security not know how to de-escalate the situation?' he said. 'It's because you can't, or because they don't want to, and it sets the tone. Donald Trump and Secretary Noem have set the tone for the Department of Homeland Security and the entire administration in terms of escalation and extreme enforcement actions.'
Padilla was not arrested or charged with any crimes. But he did say later that the administration's action show just how easily they could treat other people without official government titles.
The incident with Padilla is not the only time that the Trump administration has escalated situations with Democratic lawmakers. Last week, Rep. LaMonica McIver from New Jersey was indicted on federal charges, which said that she allegedly impeded and interfered with immigration officers outside of a detention center in her state.
Padilla later appeared on CBS's Face the Nation where moderator Margaret Brennan asked him about polling, including from CBS, that showed that much of the public supports mass deportations, a key part of the Trump's 2024 campaign.
'It depends on how you ask the question,' Padilla said. 'If you ask the same people, do they think we should maintain due process in the United States of America? The answer is overwhelming yes. Do DREAMers deserve better than the limbo that they find themselves in? Overwhelmingly, on a bipartisan basis, yes.'
Padilla said that border security mattered, as does creating a more orderly process for immigration.
'But we can't forget the millions of long-term residents people who have been here working, paying taxes raising families, buying homes contributing to the strength of our economy,' he said. 'They deserve better.'