DeLauro Statement on Use of Force Against Senator Alex Padilla

June 13, 2025 Press Release Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro released a statement on the use of force against California’s U.S. Senator Alex Padilla when he attempted to ask questions during Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference: “Yesterday, Homeland Security personnel shoved and dragged a U.S. Senator out of a public press conference in his home state, then handcuffed him on the floor. Senator Padilla was asking questions about the Trump Administration’s use of law enforcement, which is his right and his duty as an elected member of Congress. “This is the opposite of everything America stands for. Free speech is a right. Questioning our leaders is a right. “The United States Senate should investigate the actions of the Secretary of Homeland Security and formally condemn this attack on Senator Padilla.”