california and throughout the country. we will hold this administration accountable. and we'll have more to say, will have more to say in the coming days. just want to once again, we are not just a community here in los angeles, but throughout the country, because there is a lot of concern, there is a lot of tension and anxiety and people are deciding what to do this saturday. please, peacefully protest. as i was calmly and peacefully listening in that press conference and attempting to ask a question. no violence, no vandalism. please continue peacefully protesting and that's all i have

to say today. thank you very i recognize the democrat leader. mr. schumer: i mentioned a few minutes ago that i had seen a video that sickened my stomach. a u.s. senator being man handled we now know by federal agents and dragged out of a hearing room. now there's a second video. it's even worse. he's been thrown to the ground, man handled, brutally taken down, handcuffed. it's disgusting. anyone who looks at it turns anyone -- anyone who looks at this, it will turn thak stomach to look at this video and see what happened. wreaks, wreaks of

totalitarianism. this is not what democracies do. senator padilla was there legitimately in that building to ask questions of what's going on in california, which everybody wants to know answers to. we don't get answers when we ask the administration questions in one way or another. so senator padilla was exercising his duty as a senator for his constituents to try and find out what happened. and instead he gets man handled, thrown out of the room, thrown on the ground and handcuffed. we need a full investigation immediately as to what happened. and who did what. and what's going to be done to see that this doesn't happen again to senator padilla or other american citizens who are seeking their right to redress. it's despicable. it's disgusting. it is so un-american, so un-american, and we need answers. we need answers immediately.

i yield the floor. i yield to my colleague from new mexico. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: i recognize the senator from new mexico. loon mr. president, i think the american people are starting to see what happens to the senior senator from california, alex padilla. mr. lujan: he's at a press conference in california where the secretary of homeland security is and he wants to ask some questions. with all that's going on in california -- i don't know what happened, but federal agents took him down. took down a united states sen senator, that they're doing their job. why aren't more people speaking up about this nonsense? this is ridiculous. i'd use some other language but i'd probably get tossed off the floor right now. growing up on a small farm and cleaning a barn, my dad taught

me how to take a shovel coming out of all the animals. you know what that's called. i know what it's called. some of the animals that did that were males. they were bulls. the stuff that came out of them has a few names to it. i'll call it manure today. this is nonsense. this is awful. how can these federal agents gettate way with this? is the president of the united states telling folks to go down and start arresting united states senators, taking them down to the floor? is that what we've come to? the executive branch doing this to our colleagues? this is a democrat. what happens when this happens to the republican? will i hear from my republican colleagues then to say, no, we should not do this? mr. president, back down. back off. you are wrong. will someone here have the backbone to tell the president of the united states, you crossed the line. stop it.

i'm so disappointed, so disappointed. and as a latino united states senator, for this to happen to another hispanic here, there are several of us that are hispanics here, democrats and republicans. speak up. when one of my predecessors was here, dennis chavez, there were places he could not eat in this town, because of the color of his skin because he was from a state called new mexico. are we going to use our voices? aren't we better than this in the united states of america? or are we going to show up a the other folks in the world -- or are we going to show all the other folks in the world that folks that were duly elected by people, throw them on the ground, treat them like bar gang. we've got to speak up. i hope by tonight every democrat and republican member of this body has the courage to say something.

this has gone too far! it's not right.he senate is not in a quorum call. mr. merkley: i've come to the floor to say i'm extremely outraged that the executive branch's security team have shoved a u.s. senator out of a room, have proceeded to put that u.s. senator on the ground and to handcuff that senator. this is what we expect to see in an authoritarian nation that can't tolerate a question, and they start to attack the institutions. what we're seeing in the u.s. right now, we're seeing in the form of the president willfully breaking the law on the rules controlling the executive branch time and time again. we see it in his attack on the press, his attack on the universities, his attack on extorting law firms. we 00 it in the form -- we see it in the form of him using the trump v. the united states

lawsuit to say i, the united states president, can use executive orders to avert the law. that's not the way it works in a republic. at least that's not the way it works if we are a republic. if we, through a subservient congress and the combination with the deferential supreme court, slide into this authoritarian state, then we have failed our oath to the constitution. it is absolutely wrong that any u.s. senator for attempting to ask a question be treated in this fashion. i double down on the call of leader schumer. this merits a full bipartisan investigation, bipartisan because all of us are members of the legislative branch, all of us have taken an oath to the constitution, and all of us should stand up for each other and certainly our ability to

explore the policies of this administration. thank you, mr. president. senator mr. president. the presiding officer: i recognize the senator from new jersey. mr. booker: i never thought i would imagine having to stand here and discuss what i saw today, a united states senator in his own community, in the city in which he grew up, elected under the authority of the people, stepping forward to get answers to legitimate questions, and we see him being thrown to the ground, after being removed from a room for forcibly, and put into handcuffs by multiple people. this, to me, is such an abuse of

authority. it is a violent act, and there can be no justification of seeing a senator forced to their knees, laid flat on the ground, their hands twisted behind their back, and being put into restraints. if you see the video, at that point he's not fighting, he's not pushing. but this is a pattern and a practice, this is not an isolated incident. i remind people that in my own community, in the constituent of newark -- in the city of newark, we had a congresswoman and a mayor at a facility. the mayor invited into the gate, the congress "people" invited into a -- the congress people

invited into 00 conference room and then the mayor asked to leave, who did leave, and then numerous agents run out to arrest that mayor. now, the judge in this case said it was outrageous, reprimanded the trump administration for the arrest in and of itself. we see time and time again with this administration trying to precipitate a response by the misuse and the abuse of force. this is more akin to authoritarian governments. when you see a democratic nation having their executive begin to arrest mayors, begin to arrest judges, begin to arrest a united states senator who was simply asking for answers to their

questions, to remove them from a room forcibly, to throw them to the ground, to put them in restraints, this is something that we should not tolerate. and by "we," this is not democrats on the one hand republicans. this is we in this body. we have a constitutional obligation to provide oversight to the executive, a constitutional obligation to ask questions, to make inquiries, a constitutional obligation to check and balance the authority of the executive. and so here we saw before our eyes a senator in their district, in their state asking questions, and we see him being shoved out of a room. but it did not stop there. shoved to the ground, shoved onto his belly, and have his arms pulled behind his back. this should outrage every united

states senator -- this should outrage every united states senator. i would like to yield the floor to my colleague. mr. schiff: i thank the gentleman for yielding -- mr. booker: excuse me, i would yield to a question. mr. schiff: would the gentleman yield to a question? mr. booker: i would yield to a question while retaining the right to the floor. mr. schiff: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i just watched footage of our colleague, my california colleague, senator alex padilla, being forcibly removed from a briefing by the secretary of homeland security's staff. he went there to observe and to ask questions, and i watched with horror on this video seeing these agents grab my colleague, my fellow senator from california, grab him, push him

out of the hearing as he was identifying him satisfies a u.s. senator -- satisfying himself as a u.s. senator, bringing him out into the hall way, bringing him down to the ground, bringing his arms behind his badge -- his back. i saw this happen to my colleague. and i am shocked by how far we have descended in the first 140 days of this administration. where we have a president calling out the military over the objection of a governor to try to intimidate and interfere with law enforcement in california, calling out the marines to try to inflame tensions in our city, and now this latest act when a u.s. senator goes to demand questions about the lawfulness or lawlessness of these actions to see him tackled to the ground, brought to the ground. what is becoming of our

demo democracy? are there no limits to what this administration will do? is there no line they will not cross? we see lawlessness after lawlessness. we see threats to judges, of impeachment and of physical harm. we see arrests of members of congress. and now this. all of us have lived as part of a generation, since world war ii, that was used to seeing our freedoms ever expanding. we saw walls coming down. we saw new democracies being born. we came to think that somehow this was inevitable, like the laws of nature, that it was the moral arc of the universe always benning towards justice, only to see it was not bending towards justice. and to see this now at home, to see it in the united states of

ame america, the executive use force like this against a member of a coequal branch of government, to see that it has come to this alr already, and not a peep yet from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle? no whisper of dissent yet? i hope that changes. i hope that changes. the founders separated the powers between the executive and the legislative and the judiciary because they wanted to set ambition against ambition, ambition of one institution against another, to protect all of our freedom. but that requires that we go beyond our partisan affiliations and when something is wrong, dead wrong, when something is a threat to our democracy, that we call it out regardless of party. and this is wrong.

this is wrong. we ask how do you lose a democracy, how does one lose a demo democracy. this is how you lose a dem democracy, actions like today. but even more importantly than what has just happened is what will happen in the next 24 hours. will this be roundly condemned? will this be roundly condemned, or somehow will we just fall down some partisan line again and see another leap towards autocracy in this country? alex padilla is one of the most decent people i know. one of the most dedicated public servants i know, someone of just the greatest character. we all know him well in this institution. he embodies public service. he never forgot where he came from.

he came from very humble origins, and he never forgot where he came from. and the beauty of this country is you can come from a very humble origin and you can end up here. when i first got here, jon tester, a farmer from montana and senator from montana, told me about a conversation he had with john d. rockefeller, when he got here. he said rockefeller told him, you and i came from very different places, but we both ended up here. it's the beauty of america that alex padilla could end up here by dent of his brilliance, his integrity and his compassion, and all of that is at risk, all of of that is at risk right now if we let the abusive handling of this good man, and so many other good men and women around the country, if we let this go without our firmest opposition,

without our strongest pushback, without our strongest defense of our democracy. and with that, i ask the gentleman from new jersey whether he will yield to the gentle woman to my right. mr. booker: i intend to yield -- the presiding officer: excuse me. let me consult the parliamentarian for a second. the ten minutes allotted to the senator under morning business has expired. another senator may seek recognition in his or her own right. mrs. murray: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor this afternoon, to the united states senate, a place where people are elected by

their constituents to come here to be their voice, every one of us, republican, democrat, elected by the people who we represent, to come here and be their voice, and to do the job. what is that job? to make sure that we are being their voice and speaking out for them, and part of that has to be asking questions. part of that has to be demanding accountability. that has to be getting information so we can do the best job possible. it is unacceptable that a united states senator, in his own home state, elected by millions of people, went to ask a question, for his constituents, to get an answer, and was brutally thrown to the ground and handcuffed. that is wrong, and i cannot

believe that we don't have senators on both sides of the aisle calling this out as outrageous. this is what a democracy is about, mr. president. mr. president, it is about us coming to the united states senate, speaking out, asking questions, getting information, so we can be their voice. what happens when that voice is stifled? what happens when that voice is thrown to the floor and handcuffed? our democracy is lost. mr. president, i have been here more than 32 years. i have come to this floor often to speak out, to be angry, to be a voice for my people. i have never come this close to having tears in my eyes, as i speak to both sides of this aisle, about this horrendous incident that occurred. we are a democracy, but we can lose that democracy. it can be gone, unless all of us

speak out and forcibly reject what happened to united states senator, and to send the message that in this democracy it is just, it is right, it is part of our responsibility to speak up, to ask questions, and to be able to have the knowledge we need to represent the people that we come here for. we use our voices, mr. president. we use our votes, mr. president. to be a part of this democracy. not violence. when violence is done by someone representing this administration, in a forceful way, against a united states senator, how does any one of us go home and tell our constituents that they can be part of a democracy, speak out

about what they believe in? this is so wrong. this is so wrong. mr. president, i hope others speak up and speak out, and as a voice we say we want our democracy to succeed, and in order to succeed we need to be able to use our voices and to use our votes and to ask questions without being forcibly thrown to the ground, without being arrested by speaking up. i say to the entire country, we have a democracy. we will lose it if we can't use our votes -- voices. we will lose this democracy. none of us should be silent. none of us. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. murphy: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: mr. president, this feels like a defining moment for the country, but also for this

body. i understand that it may take a few moments for our republican colleagues to watch the full video, to gather some additional facts, to come to a conclusion, but we need our republican colleagues to be on the floor right now with us. this is not simply an assault on senator padilla. this is not an assault on democratic senators. this is an assault on the rule of law. this is an assault on our democracy. ultimately, we are robbing the ability of every single senator to do our job if we are now going to be threatened with violence when we simply try to stand up for our constituents. now, we all have town halls, and we are all often met with constituents who oppose us, sometimes very vocally, but

speaking for myself i don't ask law enforcement to throw my constituents to the ground and violently handcuff them because they have a different opinion from me. you know why i don't do that? because we don't do that in a democracy. we don't do that against ordinary citizens, and we certainly don't allow the administration and the law enforcement that works for the administration to do that to a united states senator. we will enter a banana republic if we don't find a way, republicans and democrats, to come together around this essential question of protecting our ability, our right as senators to speak up for our constituents. now, i understand that my republican colleagues are going to need some time to gather the facts, but we already have a statement from the department of

homeland security that has accused senator padilla of being disres disrespectful, as if that is a rationalization for violence. watch the video. even if you believe that he was disres disrespectful, and given the times that is certainly in the eye of the beholder, that never justifies what we saw on that video, throwing anyone, never mind an elected representative of the people, to the ground to be handcuffed. they say that he didn't identify who he was, and yet watch the video. he clearly states i am senator alex padilla. they're going to spin this, but i'm begging my republican colleagues, don't let them do it. protect our ability as servants of the people. speak up for the people that we

represent. make sure that we do not normalize this kind of violence. simply because the white house doesn't agree with people who dissent. if this is how a united states senator can be treated, then none of us ultimately are immune. if this is how a united states senator can be treated, none of our constituents are safe. this is a test for the country, but this is a test for the united states senate as well. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. kaine: mr. president, two days from today, june 14, is flag day in the united states. it's the day every year where we celebrate the flag, but it's not the piece of cloth we celebrate. we celebrate core american values, and the most core american value is the one that we take an oath of office to,

the constitution of the united states. the constitution includes a bill of rights, and one of the most important pieces of the bill of rights is the first amendment. it was drafted by a virginian, james madison. it talks about the fact that there can't be laws or legal restrictions against the right of the people to peacefully assemble and petition government for redress of grievances. that right is not something we're allowed. that right is something we're guaranteed. my colleague and our friend, alex padilla, born and raised in los angeles, loves his hometown, an mit educated, baseball-playing engineer, who returned to his home, who served on the los angeles city council

and now serves in this body, has some very legitimate questions about why, in an unprecedented way, the national guard and the united states marines have been deployed into his city, over the objections of the mayor, over the observations of the -- the objections of the governor, in an historically unprecedented way and to escalate tensions in his town, rather than to reduce them. so he decided to go to a peaceful public assembly. it was a press conference. it wasn't a private meeting to which he was not allowed entrance, a press conference's purpose is to share information with the public. my colleague alex padilla, who goes to wednesday prayer breakfast with me every week, with a bipartisan group of colleagues, attended a public event so he could ask a question!

about why his hometown was being besieged by marines and national guard over the objection of the mayor and the objection of the governor. his question was a grievance. he doesn't agree with the policies of the administration. he is guaranteed in this document the right to petition government for redress of grievances. as an american, this is what we are supposed to do. the framers of the constitution put this in the first amendment, did it to protect the rights of alex padilla and all of us, but they did it for another reason. they did it because they believed it would help democracy work better, that democracy works better when people can speak freely. democracy works better when people can profess their religion, when the press can operate freely, and democracy works better when people can gather peacefully and share

their dissenting points of view. it makes our democracy work better. make no mistake, the effort to manhandle our colleague, to push him out of the room for asking an inconvenient question, to handcuff him is an attempt to shut him up. it's an attempt to shut everybody up if you have a dissenting view from this administration. that's why the administration has deployed the military in an unprecedented way. they want to intimidate you. they want to make you decide that although you are granted this as a right, they want to make you afraid to exercise the right. and so as i conclude, i would just say this, on flag day, i would encourage americans of all kinds, find a peaceful assembly on june 14, on flag day, and attend it, and show that you are

a brave and patriotic american that embraces the first amendment to the constitution, and you will not allow anyone to intimidate you. i was a missionary in honduras in 1980 and 1981, and it was an authoritarian society, and no one was guaranteed the right to assemble or complain. you might do it and be okay one day. the next day you might be arrested. the next day you might be disappeared or even killed. that's not who we are. we need brave patriotic americans to stand up just as senator padilla has dpon and insist upon their right to peacefully assemble and present whatever critiques or complaints they have about policies that they find to be objectable. with that, i yield the floor. mr. schatz: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from hive. mr. schatz: i've given a lot of

speeches on the floor and this is the least prepared. this is the stuff of dictatorships. it's actually happening. a united states senator was manhandled, shoved to the ground and cuffed. he identified himself. i'm senator alex padilla. that should be enough. that should be enough. a united states senator who is, by the way, protect pd by the speech clause of the united states and a specific statute that allows him to oversee immigration facilities. and he says i'm a senator and i have a question. and to chris murphy's point they said he was being disrespectful. being disrespectful is legal. being disrespectful is american. being disruptive is okay if it's just using your words and not your body. this is the stuff of dictatorships. and the thing that is making me

most terrified is i see zero republicans, except for the presiding officer, in this chamber. and i understand if it's not a member of your own party you want some context. there is no context that justifies this action. alex padilla is not required to be impeccable in every single way in order to exercise his responsibilities as an american and as one of the two that represents california in the united states senate. this is the stuff of dictatorships. one of the officers who throws him to the ground, as he's clearly complying, cuffs him face down on the carpet, and they sap there's no -- they say there's no recording in here. it's a press conference. it's for recording. they didn't want to hear his speaking. and if the internet has got it

accurately, the secretary was there and delivering her remarks within earshot the whole time. she has command authority over those agents who are arresting a leader in the legislative branch. this is not some thing on the internet for us to argue about. we all know what we saw. we all know what we saw. i remain hopeful that leader thune and other republicans can walk us back from the brink, but i am not so sure anymore. so as trump's department of homeland security raises the stakes and continues with a series of provocations to justify increasingly authoritarian actions, we have two obligations. one is to establish that as a legislative branch we are not going to stand for this.

and the other is those people who are peacefully protesting, be very disciplined this weekend. be very peaceful this weekend. if we are going to win, we need to maintain the high ground. and i don't mean we blue, we democrats. i mean we americans who believe in this system of government. i have never ever, other than january 6, been so outraged at the conduct a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. kim: i have no words to describe just the absurdity of this moment and the dangers to our country and our union. for us to be able to stand here on the floor of the senate, in this chamber that many such important decisions have been made in a place of deliberation is not only in this room that we

as senators should be able to voice the concerns that we have about the direction of our country and the problems that our nation faces, that we get to be sworn in as united states senators, that we try to do our best, that we are u.s. senators, united states senators, that we represent this entire nation as a body. and the idea that just, as i just saw the video, one of my colleagues here thrown to the floor, handcuffed, humiliated, is not a humiliation of that individual senator. it's a humiliation of this body. the shamefulness by which that was perpetrated, that secretary of the department of homeland security, shame upon those that instigated this, that followed through on this.

it is something that all of us collectively need to stand against. this isn't about partisanship. it's about what does this institution, what does this body mean and whether or not our words and our actions as dictated by our oath that we swear to the constitution of article 1 as well, that lays out what our job is, that that is very much under threat right now. and i feel for my colleague. i don't know what is happening right now. i hope that we are able to get greater clarity about that. but what we see and what we saw in that video transpire, i hope that is something that every american in this country sees, that they see the actions that have taken place. and as someone who has worked in other nations, i worked in

diplomacy, in national security, i worked in nations with authoritarian leadership, i never thought i would see anything like this here at home. transpire here in the way that we saw it unfold. again, the humiliation befalls on our body as a whole. noup the question is -- now the question is what will the senate do to stand up for ourselves, and that is something that i hope every single senator is thinking about right now. this is not a time to put your finger up in the air and figure out which way the wind is blowing, to try to think through what type of reaction might come from the white house if we speak out against this. this is a time for us to stand up together and stand up for each other and for this institution. and not just right now. it's about what credibility do we have as a body going forward.

and i know, i get it, i'm new here. i'm one of the newer members here. i came here, i wanted to serve in this body because of what it stood for. i wanted to serve in this institution because i believe that this is an institution of incredible honor, integrity. and even at this challenging moment in this country's history, we need this body to be able to come together. so i call on all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to condemn this action, to stand united with one voice, standing up for ourselves. otherwise we will just cast ourselves to the margins of irrelevance of this nation right now. what point is it for us to stand up and show up for work every day if this is the kind of treatment that can befall any of us in this day right now in this

country? i am outraged, and i hope others are too. this is not a time to be silent. this is a time for us to be united and show the rest of the country what this institution means. otherwise we might as well go home. i for one want to fight for my colleague, fight for each other, fight for the senate, and fight for our democracy. with that, i yield back. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kelly: mr. president, i have to say this week stood out for me personally with some positive notes and some real downers. the week didn't start great. we saw the president of the united states for the first time, i think, in possibly my lifetime send troops without a request from a governor into a state because people are

protesting. and, sure, some could make an argument that maybe a few protesters got over somebody's perceived line, but they were largely peaceful protests. and what the president did is beyond his authority. it's illegal. and it was not a good start to the week, i have to say. but, mr. president, i also have to say there were some positive things this week. i got to meet your grandson. i think he said he was 15 years old. he got to go to the air and space museum, a place that i love, a place that makes our country stand out in the best of ways. shows what we can do when we work together, when we bring the full force of the united states behind doing things that are positive. we send people to the moon in the 1960's. your grandson got to see some of

that hardware over at the air and space museum. but i also have to say that the end of this week was rather outrageous and horrific. and it was brought to the american people. i strongly believe because of the attitude of the president and his ability to just work outside of the boundaries of what most americans feel are in accordance with our values and our ethics. what happened today to senator padilla was outrageous. it was violent. it's a scary thing to see happen in the united states of america. alex padilla is a great guy. he is thoughtful, he is passionate, he is just trying to serve his constituents in the best way he knows how, by doing the thing that is in our

constitution. freedom of speech, article 1. by exercising his constitutional rights and his rights as a united states senator, to ask some questions of government officials, he was doing his job. his job is oversight, oversight of the department of homeland security. this is in a federal building. and this didn't happen in isolation. the trump administration has arrested a mayor and a member of congress and a labor leader. the other day i think, i mentioned the one highlight of this week which was your grand kid, and the low light is besides this at the end of the week is what happened at for the bragg the other day -- at fort bragg the other day. the president of the united states going to a u.s. military base and using

soldiers as political props. that is not who we are as a country. and i have to say, mr. president, what i saw is leading us down a dangerous path. and we cannot retreat to partisan corners. senator schatz mentioned, other than you, mr. president, i don't think there are any other republicans showing outrage for one of their colleagues on the other side of the aisle being violently handled by law enforcement. this is wrong, this is not putting our country first. and i have to say, you know, i hope we can turn things around here in the coming weeks, but in my lifetime, and certainly my time in public office and my time serving this country, i have never seen anything like i have seen this we

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: this is a horrifying moment in our nation's history. today united states senator alex padilla was violently moved from a public briefing for asking questions on behalf of the people he represents. people in california who deserve answers about the brutal crackdown on protesters. i watched video, as many of you have as well. let me describe what it shows. officers pushed senator padilla backwards out of the room as he said the words, i'm senator padilla, i have questions for the secretary. he was then shoved to the ground. when the senator complied with the officers and went on his knees, he was forcibly pinned on

to his stomach, he was ordered to put his hands behind his back. he can be heard on the video saying, he is trying to comply with their orders. officers then put handcuffs on the senator while he was lying on the ground. his staff was then told to stop recording the handcuffing. he was put in handcuffs for asking a simple question. he was put in handcuffs for doing his job as a united states senator. he was put in handcuffs for standing up for the constitution of the united states. he was put in handcuffs for representing the people of california. now, if you're not yet convinced that president trump and his administration are trying to suppress free speech, then just watch the video. watch the video. if you are not yet convinced that president trump and his

administration are trying to undermined the foundations of our democracy, watch the video. if you are not yet convinced that president trump and his administration are hell-bent on punishing people with differing opinions than those of the president, then watch the video. and here's the really chilling part, make no mistake. what happened to senator padilla today is happening every day all across this country. every day dhs agents are throwing people to the ground and violently handcuffing them while they are not resisting. detaining them for exercising their first amendment rights of free speech. every day donald trump is making this nation look more and more like a fascist state.

if this is how federal agents treat a united states senator who peacefully asked questions of this administration, then we all have to ask, how far will they go? how violent will they get? i know my republican colleagues can see what happened today was wrong, but will any republican senator speak up for our democracy? they know senator padilla's character. they know that senator padilla is a kind man, a man who is concerned for his children, a man who is concerned for his home, a man who has dedicated his life to public service, a man who is a patriot. where are our republican colleagues? where is the republican senate? where are you? stand up and speak out. this is a continuation of what

we've been seeing. intimidate every other check on presidential power in this country. fire the civil service, get rid of those people, threaten to imprison judges, criminally charge house members who try to visit an ice facility, arrest certainties who ask -- senators who ask questions. this isn't a drill. this is an assault on our democracy. i am calling on my republican colleagues to join us in demanding a bipartisan investigation into this incident. what happened at this press conference was disgraceful, it was un-american, and every member of the united states senate should condemn it and condemn it now. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon.

mr. wyden: i was on my way to the floor to talk about clean energy policy this afternoon, but i have got to join my colleagues in addressing the shocking video out of los angeles. i've now looked at it after following at home senator mr. padilla: was carrying out his responsibilities to conduct over -- senator padilla was carrying out of his responsibilities. he was pushed to the ground and handcuffed at a press conference held by christie nominee. -- kristi noem. this is not about it happening to a united states are senator. here is what it's about. if they'll do this to a sitting united states senator in front of a room full of media, imagine

what is being done to powerless people in secret. in portland, in my hometown, we've had first hand experience with this kind of activity, faceless unidentitiful agents, staring down peaceful protesters. in portland, it was a wall of moms, my neighbors. we all said then it's un-american, and i say it again this afternoon what we have seen on our screens is un-american. it doesn't have the support of american people for this anti-democratic conduct. i'll close simply by saying this, mr. president. this has got to change. peaceful americans cannot have this kind of abuse rain down on them for the next three and a half years. it has to end now. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: mr. president, i come to the floor to join my colleagues to express outrage over the actions taking place in los angeles when our dear colleague, alex padilla, senator padilla was thrown out of an event where he was just simply trying to express his opinion on behalf of the millions of californians that he represents. it's so interesting to me that this situation happened because not that long ago in the state of washington in olympia, we had a bill signing, and it's no secret in the state of washington that a guy named tim iman is probably the antithesis of what our governor bob ferguson believes. he fights him on all sorts of

initiatives to the people on policies that mr. iman wants to express. so he's a noted individual in our state. so mr. iman shows up at a press conference to basically protest a bill that the governor is going to sign. and he gets into the governor's office and he stands right behind our governor. one of our ledparthe legislativ clerk proceeded to call the roll. -- one of our legislator -- what does our governor do? he turns around, look at mr. iman and says, oh, why are you here? he said i'm here to protest this. and the governor turned around and delivers his remarks. because you know why? because our governor was not

afraid of what tim iman said. our governor didn't think you throw him out of the building and he's just a constituent. it's not like he's a state representative. he wasn't elected by the people. our governor is not afraid to let this voice be heard. but somehow ice and homeland security are afraid of the voice of alex padilla. they are afraid of alex padilla's presence in a room. now how can that be in the united states of america? that a senator elected by the people of a state who simply wants to go to a public meeting and have his voice heard on behalf of his kwebts is hand -- constituents is handcuffed and thrown to the ground. it's not acceptable. our colleagues on the other side of the aisle need to say this is not acceptable. are we trying to freeze the voice of dissent?

are we trying to say that we cannot understand what true public policy discourse is about? i think we showed in olympia, washington, that we're big enough to take it. that we know that somebody disagrees with us, we're not going to get them thrown out. and in this case to have a united states senator handcuffed and thrown to the ground is disrespectful. it is an atrocity. we need to understand how this is happening. and if this administration or this side of the aisle thinks that is the way you treat the voice of a united states senator expressing dissent. i think the -- i thank the president and i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. alsobrooks: mr. president, i stand today and i am shaking i

am so angry. i am so enraged with the treatment i witnessed today of my colleague, senator padilla. this is not the america, this is not the america that each of us comes here each day to stand on behalf of. there are some who are saying they don't recognize this america. and i want to ring the bill today for all who are watching, for all who are listening. we have now crossed the line. this is a dangerous day in the history of our country. when a senator who was in a federal building where he had a right to be to do an oversight responsibility on behalf of the citizens who have elected him to the senate of the united states, and when he was there to carry out his duty. he was there peacefully, and he decided to ask a question. and in donald trump's america, asking a question and pushing back caused him to be manhandled

for the whole word to see. manh manhandled, treated like a person who came off the street. the thuggish behavior i saw today is absolutely unacceptable. to put hands on this peaceful man who is not only a senator, he's a father, he's a husband, he's a person, he's a venerable part of our society who was thereby on behalf of the people who elected him. he was treated violently today. you could see his hands up in the air. you could see his hands up in the air. that was not enough. he was taken to the ground and handcuffed. what was the explanation? it is an explanation anyone would know that it was a full-on lie. that he looked like an attacker. if this doesn't cause every person under the sound of my voice to shutter today, i don't know what to say.

today it's senator padilla. tomorrow it could be any one of us. this is not what democracy looks like. this is anything but a democracy. the right to free speech is sacred in our country. the right to free speech is sacred. and today we watched it violated in horrible ways that we will account for. we, as a country, if we continue along this road, i tell you, we will account for it. it was dr. martin luther king who said that the arc of the mo moral universe is long but it does bend toward justice. this injustice cannot stand. this cannot stand. i tell you, america, let's be careful. we cannot continue along this road. we absolutely cannot. we must continue to encourage and allow free speech. it is the right of every person in this country. today i am sickened and i am

angry and something must happen. these people must be held to account for what happened to senator padilla today. i yield. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. ms. blunt rochester: mr. president, you can see and feel and hear the anger, the disappointment, the concern for the future of our country. senator alex padilla is probably win of the -- probably one of the first people that took time to sit down with me as a freshman senator, to prepare me for this job.

he serves this body and his state with intelligence and with grace and with poise. so to see my colleague pushed, manhandled, taken to the ground, arms put behind his back, this person who anyone who meets will say is more of a gentle giant than someone what deserves that kind of treatment. it blows my mind. i think that's the thing. i am shocked. i am numb. i am angry. and i think part of it is because senator padilla is a senator, but there are people every day, right now across this

country who are facing this kind of concern of their treatment of peacefully trying to exhibit the voice of america but also for him, he was just doing his job of oversight. similarly, some of us also have spoken up by demonica macgyver of new jersey, also doing her job, oversight. if we don't have the ability as senators and congress people, what does that mean for all the citizens of this country? so in this moment, this is a pivotal moment. this is an opportunity for our leadership here in this chamber as well as the other members on

democratic side and the republican side to say this is unacceptable. that's really what this is about. when the incident happened, we were all on this floor and i remember seeing the video and the shock that i felt. it literally took my breath away, and i turned it other members on the floor to say, have i seen this? and they had not seen it. i walked across the aisle to my republican colleagues. they had not seen it. and there was a sense of shock as well. and so what remains to be seen is what we do with that shock. what we do with that indignation. what we do with the fact that alex padilla was doing his job on behalf of his constituents and on behalf of this country. that's what remains to be seen. where do we go from here? and so you have heard folks talk

about free speech, peaceful assembly, the ability to do our jobs of over ssight, but ultimately what this is about is about the foundation of this cou country. and so -- i'm just shaking my head. i'm shaking my head, but i'm also resolute in the fact that we were called here for this moment as bad as they may be, as bad as it may seem. we were called on the this time and the question is, what did we do with this time. so, mr. president, i ask my colleagues again on both sides of the aisle to speak up against

not only this incident but the incidents we are seeing across this country. i ask my colleagues to come together on behalf of not only the american people but the democracy on which this country sta stands. and i will continue to stand with alex padilla. i will continue to stand with those folks around this country who are facing this same kind of unacceptable behavior. lastly, i would also mention that we do have a role and responsibility. there are three branchs of government. thank god for the courts right now holding it down. but this moment is the moment. there won't be a light switch that says oh, democracy is gone. that's not how it happens. i've heard my good friend chris murphy talk about that, that

it's piece by piece, moment by moment. we see it chipped away. well, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to make sure that we do not let this slip away. thank you,

host: this is washington journal. a massive search underway for the man behind the shootings of two minnesota lawmakers and what authorities say were politically motivated attacks. yesterday the u.s. army marked its birthday with the parade in the united states capital. the parade which coincides with president