Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) criticized fellow Democrats Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), accusing them of engaging in “politics as theater.” His comments came in response to a recent incident involving Padilla, who attempted to interrupt a press conference held by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Padilla was ultimately removed from the room, forcibly taken to the ground, and placed in handcuffs for a time before being released. Noem reportedly spoke with him for several minutes after the press conference. In a statement to Axios, Golden explained that “storming into the FBI headquarters and trying to break up a press conference and rushing” towards a cabinet member “is not really the job of an elected official.”
While Golden criticized Padilla, he admitted that it is “never good when a senator or member of Congress gets roughed up by law enforcement.” But he added: “I don’t think politics as theater is what our job is here.”
In a post on X, DHS explained that Padilla had “interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself,” and that he had reportedly “lunged toward” Noem. DHS added that Padilla had been instructed “repeatedly to back away” and that he did “not comply.”
“Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,” DHS said. “Mr. Padilla was told repeatedly to back away and did not comply with officers’ repeated commands.”
Golden also addressed the case of McIver, who was recently indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly storming a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, in May. If convicted, McIver could face up to 17 years in federal prison. “Where I come from, if you shove a police officer, you’re probably getting arrested,” Golden told Axios.