SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed, pinned to the ground and handcuffed after interrupting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday.
The incident has drawn intense backlash from Democrats and added to tensions as protests in L.A. and in various other states push back on the Trump administration’s immigration raids.
Republicans have broadly criticized Padilla for interrupting the press conference, though GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) called video of the incident “sick” and “shocking at every level.”
Video of the encounter shows multiple men restraining Padilla and forcing him out of the room. Padilla can be heard saying, “I’m Sen. Alex Padilla, I have questions for the secretary” as he’s dragged away.
Further video showed Padilla on his stomach on the ground being handcuffed.
“When I leave here I’ll have a conversation with him but I think everyone would agree that wasn’t appropriate,” Noem said at the press conference.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later accused Padilla, who was dressed in plain clothes, of “lunging” toward Noem.
“Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin posted on X. “Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he was “sickened” by the “manhandling” of a U.S. senator and that it “reeks of totalitarianism.”
“We need immediate answers to what the hell went on,” he said.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) called for an investigation.
“It’s outrageous. It’s the assault of a senator,” he posted on X. “There should be an investigation and people held accountable.”
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) called on House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) to subpoena Noem, provoking an angry back and forth between the two.
“Will you just shut up?” Comer said.
“No, you’re not going to tell me to shut up,” Frost fired back.
Noem and Padilla met privately for 15 minutes after the encounter.
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DEM GOVERNORS WALK TIGHTROPE ON IMMIGRATION
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The explosive confrontation at the press conference in LA came hours after a contentious hearing on the other side of the country, as three Democratic governors appeared for a House hearing and insisted they’re supportive of enforcing immigration laws while arguing the Trump administration is “terrorizing” their communities through “militarized” enforcement efforts.
Govs. Tim Walz (Minn.), JB Pritzker (Ill.) and Kathy Hochul (N.Y.) engaged in heated exchanges with Republicans on the House Oversight panel, as protesters in major cities clashed with law enforcement over Trump’s move to send U.S. Marines and National Guard troops into Los Angeles.
The Democratic governors offered searing criticism of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids taking place across the country.
“Minnesotans are angry with what they’ve seen happen to their neighbors,” Walz said. “The federal government has been snatching people up, putting them in prison and deporting them with no due process.”
But there was also evidence of the nation’s rightward shift in 2024, when Democrats struggled to address crime, policing and immigration.
In his opening remarks, Pritzker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, said “violent criminals have no place on our streets.”
“If they’re undocumented, I want them out of Illinois and out of our country,” he said.
Pritzker was asked about the millions who crossed the Southern border illegally under former President Biden’s one term in office.
“I was critical of things President Biden did,” he responded. “I wrote a letter to the president telling him that.”
Hochul insisted her state works closely with ICE in criminal cases.
“Since I’ve become governor, we’ve cooperated in handing over 1,300 convicted criminals to ICE,” she said.
And Walz argued that when he was a member of the House, he voted for stricter border enforcement.
Still, the governors were most animated when discussing the troops deployed to Los Angeles and the escalation in ICE deportation raids.
“It’s wrong to deploy the national guard and active duty Marines into an American city over the objection of local law enforcement just to inflame a situation and create a crisis,” Pritzker said. “Just as it is wrong to tear children away from their homes and mothers and fathers who have spent decades living and working in our communities.”
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At the hearing, Republicans displayed photos of people whose family members had been killed by people in the country illegally.
“Sanctuary policies do not protect Americans,” said Comer, the Oversight chair. “They protect criminal illegal aliens.”
Democrats brought photos of women and children who have been deported, with ranking member Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) comparing ICE to Adolf Hitler’s secret police, the Gestapo.
“My dad served in Second World War,” Lynch said. “He fought the Nazis in Northern Africa. He fought the Nazis on the Italian peninsula. And I think he’s looking down right now, he’s happy that I’m fighting today’s Nazis.”
The Gestapo references infuriated Republicans, who pressed Walz on a past social media post making the same connection.
“Do you think rhetoric about Gestapo put ICE in great danger?” Comer asked.
“Any attack on law enforcement is unacceptable,” Walz responded.
The biggest fireworks came from members who represent districts in the governor’s home states.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) grilled Hochul about specific instances of violence committed by immigrants in the country illegally in New York.
“These crimes are horrific, I condemn them,” Hochul said, as Stefanik interjected to say: “Because of your sanctuary state policies!”
As Hochul testified, the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against New York over a law that seeks to shield migrants from immigration arrests when they go to court proceedings.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) hammered Walz, who earlier noted that Minnesota is not technically a sanctuary state.
“So you claim you’re not a sanctuary state, you just provide free health care, free college and driver’s licenses to illegal aliens,” Emmer said.
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TRUMP’S MILITARY MOVES HEAD TO COURT
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The president’s deployment of troops in LA and Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s (D) challenge to the move is in court Thursday, with District Judge Charles Breyer set to hear Newsom’s case.
Breyer, who was appointed by former President Clinton, is the brother of former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday declined to commit to following federal court or Supreme Court rulings regarding the Pentagon’s deployment under questioning from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
“What I will tell you is my job right now is to ensure the troops that we have in Los Angeles are capable of supporting law enforcement,” Hegseth said.
Meanwhile, Trump provoked another legal fight with California on Thursday, overturning the state’s electric vehicle mandate. California and other states responded with a lawsuit.
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The Trump administration says ICE raids will continue across the country, including at workplaces.
“Worksite enforcement operations are going to massively expand,” Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told Semafor.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a provocative new poster featuring World War II imagery, urging citizens to assist in locating and reporting on immigrants who are in the country without documentation.
However, a group of six Hispanic Republicans are urging the administration to prioritize deporting migrants facing charges for violent crimes, as officers have ramped up arrests of non-violent migrants.
Congressional Hispanic Conference Chairman Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and other Republicans wrote in a letter to ICE:
“While we do agree that we are a nation of laws—and that all who crossed our borders illegally are subject to those laws—there are levels of priority that must be considered when it comes to immigration enforcement. Every minute that we spend pursuing an individual with a clean record is a minute less that we dedicate to apprehending terrorists or cartel operatives.”
At least 700 demonstrators in seven cities have been arrested in recent days.
A curfew remains in effect in Los Angeles. Protesters clashed with police outside a federal building in Seattle. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) surged 5,000 National Guard troops.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) told Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren:
“We will allow peaceful protest, but we will not allow you to destroy our city or harm innocent people and we will take action whenever that takes place.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said drivers in his state that fear for their lives will not be held liable if they hit protesters blocking roadways.
“If you’re driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle and threatens you, you have a right to flee for your safety, and so if you drive off and you hit one of these people, that’s their fault for impinging on you,” he told podcaster Dave Rubin.
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The Trump administration launched a website for its $5 million investor visas, allowing those interested to sign up for early access to a newly created “gold card.”
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The CIA released an additional 54 documents in its third round of declassifying papers related to the 1968 assassination of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.).
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There is one known survivor from the Air India commercial flight that crashed and exploded after takeoff in Ahmedabad on Thursday. This was the first-ever crash of a Boeing 787.
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House passes first round of DOGE cuts
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The House on Thursday narrowly passed $9.4 billion in cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency by a 214-212 vote.
The legislation claws back funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funnels dollars to NPR and PBS.
Four GOP lawmakers joined all Democrats in voting “no,” helping it to squeak by, in part due to three House Democrats having died in office this year.
Another fight is brewing between House and Senate Republicans, with the Senate GOP seeking to cut the state and local tax deduction cap after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) spent weeks negotiating it higher to appease conservatives from blue states.
MEANWHILE…
Republicans are laying the groundwork for a tax cliff at the end of President Trump’s first term.
While the GOP is seeking to make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent, additional tax cuts for working-class Americans are set to expire at the end of 2028.
“It means that’s going to be an issue in the next presidential race,” said House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.).
The battle over the Trump agenda bill exploded on Capitol Hill today during a Senate Finance Committee hearing.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) shouted at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, arguing that the Trump tax cuts are ballooning the deficit.
“We know exactly what the last tax cuts did, which was blow a massive hole in our deficit and debt,” Bennet said, raising his voice. “You can’t sit here and lie about that. It’s true!”
“A higher decibel level does not give your statements more veracity,” Bessent responded.
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© Abir Sultan, Associated Press pool
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Israel, Iran on the brink
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The U.S. is scaling back its personnel in the Middle East amid media reports that an Israeli strike against Iran is imminent.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth initiated the departures of military dependents across northeast Africa, the Middle East, and portions of South and Central Asia, while the U.S. is drawing down its presence in Iraq. The U.S. Embassy in Israel is restricting employees from traveling.
CBS News reports that Israel is preparing to launch an operation in Iran and that the U.S. is worried Iran could retaliate against American sites in Iraq.
This comes ahead of planned talks between the U.S. and Iran over the country’s nuclear program in Oman on Sunday, the sixth round of negotiations.
President Trump on Thursday said he did not want Israel targeting Iran as long as there was a possibility of striking a nuclear deal first.
“As long as I think there is an agreement, I don’t want them going in because I think that would blow it,” Trump said, acknowledging that he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about it.
“We’ve had very good discussions with Iran,” Trump added. “Whether or not we get there, I can’t tell you. But it will happen soon.”
• Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg will not seek reelection after DNC members voted to redo the vice chair election.
Hogg has clashed with DNC leadership over his efforts to primary sitting Democratic lawmakers.
Hogg fired off a long thread on X late Wednesday, promising to continue challenging incumbents he believes are not adequately meeting the moment.
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Perspectives:
• The Hill: Putin has incurred one million casualties in his pointless war.
• After Babel: The effects of the phone-based childhood.
• The Honest Broker: Brian Wilson is my brick.
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