Scoop: House Dem breaks with party on McIver and Padilla incidents
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Rep. Jared Golden arrives at the U.S. Capitol for votes on June 15, 2023. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Democrats in Congress have largely closed ranks around Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) — but centrist Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) is panning what he calls their "politics as theater."
Why it matters: Golden represents a district President Trump won last year and is always walking a careful line between supporting his party and maintaining his independence. On this, he is steering hard away from the party line.
- "I think that it's never good when a senator or member of Congress gets roughed up by law enforcement," he said in an interview with Axios at the Capitol.
- But, he added, "I don't think politics as theater is what our job is here."
What happened: Padilla was forcibly removed by law enforcement as he tried to confront Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem during a press conference at the Los Angeles FBI headquarters on Thursday.
- Officers detained Padilla, held him on the ground and handcuffed him, though the senator was later allowed to meet with Noem.
- The incident came after McIver was indicted for allegedly assaulting law enforcement during a scuffle with DHS officers outside an ICE facility in her home state last month, which she denies.
What he's saying: "Storming into the FBI headquarters and trying to break up a press conference and rushing on a [Cabinet] secretary is not really the job of an elected official," Golden said.
- Of McIver, he said: "Where I come from, if you shove a police officer, you're probably getting arrested."
- Still, he added: "I am not in any way saying that means law enforcement should be slamming people around."
The other side: "Everyone is entitled to their respective opinions. … For me, the video I saw was clear," Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), a member of Democratic leadership, told Axios when asked about Golden's comments.
- Padilla "was at his place of work. He works in that building. He went to the press conference ... he identified himself as a U.S. senator and then they manhandle him to the ground and arrest him," Garcia said.
- "I think it's crystal clear that that is unacceptable and an incredible overreach and quite dangerous ... and I think the American public is as outraged as the Congress."
What to watch: Some Democrats are already talking about investigating the Padilla incident.
- "We only saw clips of it, so I'd like to find out everything that happened and how that occurred," said Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), the acting ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.
- "He was very roughly handled, and it seemed like he was just trying to interject and attend the [press] conference. So, yeah, I think we need to take a good, hard look at it."
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional statements.
