Sen. Alex Padilla’s forceful removal from a Department of Homeland Security press conference has rattled Democrats in Congress, who were already taking measures to protect themselves in case the Trump administration targets them.
“We’re all looking into insurance coverage and other things for things that are unthinkable, that don’t happen in the United States — for bogus investigations and, you know, politically motivated arrests,” Rep. Jared Huffman told NOTUS.
“It’s such a glaring window into this descent to dictatorship that we’re experiencing,” the California Democrat continued.
The incident with Padilla, Huffman said, “should” trigger the need for broader conversations within the caucus around what to do in these situations.
Those conversations began immediately. In the hours after news of Padilla’s forceful removal broke, one House Democrat told NOTUS that members were having discussions among themselves on the House floor about “what to do next.”
“I hear people talking about it,” the lawmaker said. “What to do next to officially oppose it, but also what do members do to protect themselves.”
Others discussed whether they need to get private security.
“I heard multiple people say the violence of the arrest very much crosses a line,” said another House Democrat, recounting conversations they overheard on the floor. “Everybody was talking about, like, we need our own fucking security at this point to protect us from ICE agents, to protect us from executive branch officials.”
Already, more and more Democratic lawmakers in Congress have been getting liability insurance in response to high-profile incidents between the Trump administration and Democrats, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s arrest at the Delaney Hall detention facility, Rep. LaMonica McIver’s federal indictment and the Justice Department’s investigation into Rep. Robert Garcia, as NOTUS previously reported.
Days after the incident at Delaney Hall, Garcia told members during a Congressional Progressive Caucus meeting that they should be considering “legal and physical protections,” one source said. A second source confirmed the conversation.
Garcia told members they should “not scramble after the fact, after the [administration] starts sending police after political opponents, better to be prepared because we can all see where this is headed,” the source said.
When NOTUS asked Garcia about this meeting, the California congressman said, “I’ve been very vocal to the caucus about people getting personal liability insurance.”
“I’ve been encouraging folks, I’ve been sending folks across the caucus information to get personal liability insurance, and a lot of people have chosen to do that,” Garcia said. “I think folks should do it, especially in the Trump era.”
Democrats are bracing for more.
“We’re going to start doing a lot more of this,” Rep. Salud Carbajal told NOTUS. “And regrettably, you’re going to see a lot more confrontations because the Trump administration is violating the law, pushing the envelope, violating people’s rights — including members of Congress’.”
Republicans quickly banded together to call Padilla an intruder at Noem’s event.
Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that he “saw the same video, a very brief video, that I think many people did” of Padilla getting removed from the DHS presser.
“I think the senator’s actions — my view is it was wildly inappropriate. You don’t charge a sitting cabinet secretary, everybody can draw their own conclusions,” Johnson said. “I think the American people can draw their own conclusions. They saw a senator acting like a — wildly inappropriate.”
As Johnson took questions from reporters, Democrats, led by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, started marching over to Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Some began shouting in response to Johnson’s remarks to reporters blaming Padilla for the incident, calling his remarks “a lie” and asking him to “stand up for Congress.”
Thune had already left the building with the rest of the Senate for the day, having recently wrapped up votes for the week.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez, one of the Democrats that went to Thune’s office, told reporters outside that Thune was not present but that his staff “was very professional.” Rep. Norma Torres, who was also there, said Thune’s office told them the Senate majority leader had not spoken to Padilla.
Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Pennsylvania Democrat, had a different approach. She stayed behind, standing directly behind Johnson as he spoke with reporters, waiting to speak directly to him and make a more private plea.
“The one thing I did say is it’s up to the president to turn the temperature down. Everybody is inflamed and agitated. [Johnson] said, ‘I’m talking to the president,’” Dean told reporters following the conversation.
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Oriana González is a reporter at NOTUS. Riley Rogerson, a reporter at NOTUS, Samuel Larreal and Tinashe Chingarande, NOTUS reporters and Allbritton Journalism Institute fellows, contributed to this report.