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Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., joined the chorus of Democrats criticizing Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem after Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was stopped by Secret Service agents after interrupting a DHS press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday.
“It’s time for Republican Senators to speak up. We need an independent investigation of this,” Warren said on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes” on Thursday night.
“It is also time for Kristi Noem to resign. She needs to resign,” she added.
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Padilla was briefly placed in handcuffs and kicked out of the room by the Secret Service after he entered the press conference and attempted to ask the secretary a question in the middle of her remarks. He identified himself by name as a senator, but he was not wearing a security pin during the incident, according to the FBI.
“Everything is on camera—Warren is trying to revise history on Senator Padilla’s embarrassing conduct, but Americans can see with their own eyes,” Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated.
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“Senator Padilla entered a high-security federal facility under false pretenses and crashed an invite-only press conference as law enforcement are working around the clock to calm violent riots,” McLaughlin continued. “There’s no excuse for busting into a press conference and interrupting it. Had Senator Padilla asked for a meeting, Secretary Noem would have happily obliged, which she graciously did for 15 minutes after the press conference.”
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Padilla tried to manufacture a viral moment and it’s embarrassing & disrespectful to law enforcement,” she added.
The Democrat and Noem did end up having a brief meeting where they exchanged phone numbers. Fox News reported that Noem described the meeting as “cordial and beneficial,” and Padilla’s office said it was “civil.”
The press conference addressed the civil unrest in the Los Angeles area as Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues to arrest illegal immigrants.
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“The Senator met with Secretary Noem this afternoon. He raised concerns with the deployment of military forces and the needless escalation over the last week, among other issues. And he voiced his frustration with the continued lack of response from this administration,” Edgar D. Rodríguez, Deputy Communications Director for Padilla, posted to X.
“It was a civil, brief meeting, but the Secretary did not provide any meaningful answers. The Senator was simply trying to do his job and seek answers for the people he represents in California,” he added.
Other Democrats, like California Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell, have called on Noem to step down. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski condemned how the incident was handled, whereas others, like sports commentator Stephen A. Smith, slammed the incident on his show, hypothetically asking Padilla, “You couldn’t wait?”
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