Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks alongside Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) during a property league connected Wednesday, June 11, 2025 to sermon the Republican’s reconciliation bill.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that the video of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) being forcibly removed from a property conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and thrown to the crushed “reeks of totalitarianism” and called for an probe into however it transpired.
A visibly aggravated Schumer lambasted the medication for not giving Democrats answers astir the past week of protests successful Los Angeles and said Padilla was doing his occupation arsenic a legislator to question information.
“He’s been thrown to the crushed … man-handled. Brutally taken down, handcuffed. It was disgusting,” Schumer said. “Anyone who looks astatine this, it volition crook their stomach. … Reeks of totalitarianism.
“This is not what democracies do,” Schumer continued. “Sen. Padilla was determination legitimately successful that gathering to inquire questions of what’s going connected successful California, which everybody wants to cognize answers to. We don’t get answers erstwhile we inquire the administration’s questions successful 1 mode oregon another. Sen. Padilla was exercising his work arsenic a legislator for his constituents to effort to find retired what happened.”
The New York Democrat went connected to telephone for a afloat probe into however Padilla ended up connected the crushed and handcuffed.
“Instead, helium gets man-handled, thrown retired of the room, thrown connected the crushed and handcuffed,” Schumer continued. “We request a afloat probe instantly arsenic to what happened and who did what and what’s going to beryllium done to spot that this doesn’t hap again — to Sen. Padilla oregon different American citizens who are seeking their close to redress.”
“It’s despicable, it’s disgusting, it’s truthful un-American,” helium added. “We request answers. We request answers immediately.”
Padilla appeared to interrupt Noem toward the opening of her property conference, which prompted information to face him. He identified himself, but the information officers forcibly removed him from the country and aboriginal handcuffed him. His bureau said successful a connection that helium is nary longer detained.
The DHS caput told reporters that she would effort to talk with Padilla astir his concerns.
“When I permission present I’ll person a speech with him but I deliberation everyone would hold that wasn’t appropriate,” Noem said astatine the property league astir Padilla.
“When I permission present I’ll find him and sojourn and find retired truly what his concerns were. I deliberation everybody successful America would hold that that wasn’t appropriate, that if you wanted to person a civilian discussion, particularly arsenic a leader, a nationalist official, that you would scope retired and effort to person a conversation,” she added.