Sen. Rand Paul says he’s not on board with calls to censure Sen. Alex Padilla following his clash with federal agents during a press conference last week.
“No, no, no. I’m not for censuring him. I think that’s crazy. I’m not for that at all,” Paul said on NBC’s Meet The Press with Kristen Welker.
The incident happened Thursday when Padilla approached Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press event in Los Angeles. Federal agents forcefully removed and handcuffed the California Democrat, sparking a wave of reactions across Capitol Hill. Democrats called the response excessive, while Republicans said Padilla crossed a line.
The White House claimed Padilla “stormed” the event and “lunged” at Noem. Democrats, however, defended him, arguing he was exercising his right to question a public official and was unjustly “manhandled.”
Paul acknowledged that the situation could have ended differently. “I think it could’ve ended without the handcuffs,” he said. Still, he added that Padilla “rushed the stage,” and suggested the agents may not have realized he was a senator. “Can you rush a stage? Can you rush into a press conference?” Paul asked. “I think they honestly didn’t recognize him.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson took a different view, saying Padilla’s behavior warranted a formal response. “I think that that behavior at a minimum rises to the level of a censure,” Johnson told reporters. “There needs to be a message sent… that’s not what we’re going to do.”
The press conference, hosted by Noem, took place amid mass protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the deployment of the National Guard and Marines to safeguard federal sites.
