[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 101 (Thursday, June 12, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3372-S3373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              ALEX PADILLA

  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 is 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 is no secret in the State of Washington that a guy 
named Tim Eyman is probably the antithesis of what our Governor Bob 
Ferguson believes.
  He fights him on all sorts of initiatives to the people about 
policies that Mr. Eyman wants to express. So he is a noted individual 
in our State.
  So Mr. Eyman 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 legislators, who basically wants the Governor 
to know that this individual, who he disagrees with--doesn't support 
this bill--has now snuck into the Governor's press conference.
  So what does our Governor do? He turns around, and he looks at Mr. 
Eyman, and he says, ``Oh, why are you here?''
  And he said, ``I'm here to protest this.''
  And the Governor turns around and delivers his remarks. Because, you 
know why? Because our Governor was not afraid what Tim Eyman said. Our 
Governor didn't think, You throw him out of the building, and he is 
just a constituent.
  It is not like he is a State rep. It is not like he got elected by 
people. Our Governor was 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 his State, who simply wants to go to a public 
meeting and have his voice heard on behalf of his constituents, is 
handcuffed and thrown to the ground?
  It is 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

[[Page S3373]]

showed in Olympia, WA, that we are big enough to take it, that we know 
that if somebody disagrees with us, we are not going to get them thrown 
out.
  And in this case, to have a U.S. 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 U.S. Senator expressing 
dissent.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.

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