‘An Assault On The Rule Of Law’: Chris Murphy Responds To Padilla Being Removed From Noem’s DHS Briefing

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During remarks on the Senate floor on Thursday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) spoke about the forced removal of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) from a DHS press briefing.

Transcript

00:00Senator from Connecticut.

00:07Mr. President, this feels like a defining moment for the country, but also for this body.

00:16I understand that it may take a few moments for our Republican colleagues to watch the

00:21full video, to gather some additional facts, to come to a conclusion.

00:25But we need our Republican colleagues to be on the floor right now with us.

00:33This is not simply an assault on Senator Padilla.

00:38This is not an assault on Democratic senators.

00:42This is an assault on the rule of law.

00:44This is an assault on our democracy.

00:47And ultimately, we are robbing the ability of every single senator to do our job if we

00:53are now going to be threatened with violence when we simply try to stand up for our constituents.

01:03Now, we all have town halls, and we are all often met with constituents who oppose us, sometimes

01:14very vocally, but speaking for myself, I don't ask law enforcement to throw my constituents

01:23to the ground and violently handcuff them because they have a different opinion from me.

01:31You know why I don't do that?

01:32Because we don't do that in a democracy.

01:34We don't do that against ordinary citizens, and we certainly don't allow the administration

01:43and the law enforcement that works for the administration to do that to a United States

01:47senator.

01:48We will enter a banana republic if we don't find a way, Republicans and Democrats, to

01:58come together around this essential question of protecting our ability, our right as senators

02:03to speak up for our constituents.

02:06Now, I understand that my Republican colleagues are going to need some time to gather the facts,

02:11but we already have a statement from the Department of Homeland Security that has accused Senator

02:16Padilla of being disrespectful, as if that is a rationalization for violence.

02:24Watch the video.

02:26Even if you believe that he was disrespectful, and given the times, that is certainly in the

02:32eye of the beholder.

02:33That never justifies what we saw on that video, throwing anyone, never mind an elected representative

02:41of the people, to the ground to be handcuffed.

02:43They say that he didn't identify who he was, and yet watch the video.

02:50He clearly states, I am Senator Alex Padilla.

02:59They're going to spin this, but I'm begging my Republican colleagues, don't let them do it.

03:05protect our ability, as servants of the people, to speak up for the people they represent, make

03:14sure that we do not normalize this kind of violence, simply because the White House doesn't

03:24agree with people who dissent.

03:27If this is how a United States Senator can be treated, then none of us ultimately are immune.

03:34If this is how a United States Senator can be treated, none of our constituents are safe.

03:42This is a test for the country, but this is a test for the United States Senate as well.

03:47I yield the floor.

03:52Senator from Virginia.

03:53Mr. President.

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