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




                              ALEX PADILLA

  Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER. Mr. President, you can see and feel and hear the 
anger, the disappointment, and the concern for the future of our 
country.
  Senator Alex Padilla is 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 who deserves that kind of 
treatment.
  It blows my mind. I think that is the thing. I am shocked. I am numb. 
I am angry. 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 about their treatment when 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 about LaMonica McIver from 
New Jersey, also a Member of Congress doing her job--oversight.
  If we don't have that ability as Senators and Congresspeople, what 
does that mean for all of 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 
the Democratic side and the Republican side to say: This is 
unacceptable. That is 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 to other Members on the floor to say: Have you seen 
this? And they had not seen it. I walked across the aisle to my 
Republican colleagues. Republican colleagues had not seen it. And there 
was a sense of shock as well.
  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 is what remains to be seen: Where do we go from here?
  You have heard folks talk about free speech, peaceful assembly, the 
ability to do our job of oversight, but ultimately what this is about 
is the foundation of this country.
  I am just shaking my head. I am shaking my head, but I am also 
resolute in the fact that we were called here for this moment. As bad 
as things may be, as bad as they may seem, we were called here for such 
a time as this, and the question is, What do we do with this time?
  So I ask my colleagues again on both sides of the aisle to speak up 
against not only this incident but the incidents that 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 
stands.
  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 a 
responsibility. There are three branches 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 
is not how it happens. I have heard my good friend Chris Murphy talk 
about that, that it is piece by piece, moment by moment, we see it 
chipped away.
  Well, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to make sure we do 
not let this slip away.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.

                          ____________________