Washington, D.C. — Earlier today, FBI agents handcuffed and used physical force to remove Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) from a press conference where he questioned the Trump administration’s inappropriate use of troops in Los Angeles. In response, Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
Sen. Padilla was not just forcibly removed from a press conference; he was pushed to the ground and handcuffed for asking critical questions on behalf of his constituents. He was conducting his core oversight responsibilities—asking questions of U.S. Secretary of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem. This is outrageous behavior from the Trump administration, which has not hesitated to use physical force to silence anyone who questions them.
In America, we have no kings. Sen. Padilla is an elected representative of a coequal branch of government. The Trump administration needs to hold all involved accountable, and all congressional leaders—from both sides of the aisle—must condemn this attack on a senator. Conservatives’ words about limited government ring painfully hollow if they choose to remain silent in the face of the highest levels of government overreach and massive abuses of power that leave a senator tackled to the ground and shackled.