[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 101 (Thursday, June 12, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3369-S3370]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              ALEX PADILLA

  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, this feels like a defining moment for the

[[Page S3370]]

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 because 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. And 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 townhalls, 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 U.S. 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 and 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 ``disrespectful,'' as if that is a rationalization for violence.
  Watch the video. Even if you believe that he was ``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 are going to spin this. But I am begging my Republican 
colleagues: Don't let them do it. Protect our ability as servants of 
the people to 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 U.S. Senator can be treated, then none of us 
ultimately are immune. If this is how a U.S. Senator can be treated, 
none of our constituents are safe.
  This is a test for the country, but this is a test for the U.S. 
Senate as well.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.

                          ____________________