Trump's week in review: Israel attacks Iran; National Guard deployed; senator removed by Secret Service
2. DHS removes U.S. senator from press conference
As U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem delivered remarks in Los Angeles amid ongoing demonstrations in the city Thursday, video footage shows Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., being removed from the room where she was holding a press conference as he was heading toward the front of the room and attempting to ask Noem a question.
Padilla introduced himself as a senator and told law enforcement officials, "Hands off" as they escorted him from the room.
While California Gov. Gavin Newsom denounced Padilla's removal from the press conference as "outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful," DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended what occurred in the video in a statement posted to X.
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"Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem," she wrote.
"Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers' repeated commands," she added. "@SecretService thought he was an attacker and officers acted appropriately."
McLaughlin stressed that Padilla and Noem had a 15-minute meeting after the press conference. Padilla responded to his removal from the press conference in an X post Thursday by defining it as "part of a much bigger effort to try and silence anyone who dares to question what the Trump administration is doing," vowing, "we will not be intimidated and we will not be deterred."
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
