Dozens of House Democrats marched to the offices of Republican leaders on Thursday afternoon, protesting the detention of Sen. Alex Padilla by federal agents. The group, which included members of the House, attempted to meet with Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune but found both leaders unavailable. Thune was at the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump on the megabill, while Johnson was reportedly engaged in other duties.
As the House concluded its final votes of the week, the Democrats walked across the Capitol from Thune’s office to Johnson’s, trying to speak with the leaders. However, neither was present to engage with them, and the Democrats indicated that they were not able to meet with either GOP leader. Rep. Adriano Espaill, chair of the Hispanic Caucus, voiced grave concerns over Johnson’s remarks about the detention, calling the speaker’s description of Padilla’s actions as ‘wildly inappropriate’ a ‘lie’.
During the march, the Democrats also heckled Johnson as he took a victory lap about the passage of billions of dollars in clawbacks of congressionally-approved funding. As Johnson began to speak about Padilla’s detention and called his actions ‘wildly inappropriate,’ some lawmakers shouted: ‘keep propping up that authoritarian!’ and ‘that’s a lie!’
Johnson also floated to reporters the possibility of censuring Padilla, drawing outrage from the Democrats who later gathered outside his office. ‘Anyone that’s reasonable that sees the video will understand Sen. Padilla was not aggressive,’ Espaillat said. The group’s protest highlighted tensions within Congress over the handling of the situation, with Democrats accusing GOP leaders of politicizing a matter of law enforcement.