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Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said in an interview that he never thought he would be forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press conference as he tried to ask DHS secretary Kristi Noem a question in June, arguing it should be a “wake-up call.”
“Never would I have imagined that that would have happened — that that would be a response to a question, especially to a senator trying to ask a question,” he told The New York Times’ Lulu Garcia Navarro.
“No apology, but honestly not surprised, just given how this administration tends to carry itself,” he continued. “I wish I could say it was more substantive or more constructive. She finally did say, ‘Well, I understand you’re asking for more information. What’s your question?’”
Padilla said his removal from the press conference should be a wake-up call, arguing it was part of a bigger problem with the Trump administration.
“It was clear to me that if that’s how this administration would respond to a senator with a question, imagine not just how they could treat so many other people, but how they are treating so many other people when the cameras are not on. This should be a wake-up call,” he told the Times.
The Democratic senator pointed to National Guard presence in cities such as Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and said it was a “heady time” for the country.
Asked if he thought his removal was deliberate or a mistake, Padilla said, “At minimum, it was a hell of an overreaction.”
“But they knew who I was. Just like Vice President Vance knows my name, but he chose to call me Jose. We served together for two years in the Senate, for Christ’s sake. He knows who I am, but it’s the way they choose to go about things,” he said, referring to Vice President JD Vance calling Padilla “Jose” after the incident.
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The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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