Tensions between state and federal leadership in California reached a boiling point Thursday after Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) was forcibly removed and handcuffed at a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press conference in Los Angeles. The incident, which occurred during a briefing led by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, has ignited a firestorm among top Democrats and intensified scrutiny over President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops amid ongoing immigration-related unrest.
BREAKING: Appeals Court rules in Trump’s favor— Judge Breyer’s ruling ordering Trump to hand control of the National Guard to Newsom is temporarily HALTED
MASSIVE L FOR @GavinNewsom https://t.co/NHefRyy9bO pic.twitter.com/tYI93UPn6k
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 13, 2025
During the Thursday press conference, Senator Padilla reportedly interrupted Secretary Noem, shouting over her prepared remarks to demand answers about ICE enforcement operations in Southern California. The situation quickly escalated, and video shows Padilla resisting removal before being taken to the ground and handcuffed by federal agents.
Padilla, a longtime ally of Governor Gavin Newsom, had been a vocal critic of the administration’s recent ICE operations and National Guard deployment in Los Angeles.
Governor Newsom responded to the event with fury, posting on X:
“Senator Alex Padilla is one of the most decent people I know. This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now.”
Newsom has positioned himself as the most prominent critic of Trump’s immigration enforcement strategy in California and recently sued the federal government over control of the state’s National Guard.
Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) called for an immediate investigation into the conduct of federal agents involved in Padilla’s removal. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he wants “immediate answers to what the hell went on.”
Even Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, typically reserved in federal matters, called the incident “abhorrent and outrageous.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, a former California senator herself, labeled the treatment of Padilla a “stunning abuse of power”:
“United States Senator Alex Padilla was representing the millions of Californians who are demanding answers… This is a shameful and stunning abuse of power.”
While Padilla’s conduct disrupted a formal federal briefing, Democrats are portraying the federal response as authoritarian and excessive. The backlash has now become a rallying cry against what they view as Trump’s increasingly aggressive use of federal force in Democratic strongholds.
Amid the fallout, a critical legal ruling gave Trump a temporary win. On Thursday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the administration an emergency stay, allowing Trump to retain command of the California National Guard for now. This temporarily blocks a ruling issued just hours earlier by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who had declared the deployment unlawful and ordered the Guard returned to Governor Newsom’s authority.
Hi @GavinNewsom, why did you just unpin this post? 😂
Before and after: https://t.co/Jq8u9jSr5w pic.twitter.com/k7tavoR9MC
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 13, 2025
The legal fight centers on whether Trump overstepped the limits of the 1903 Militia Act and violated the Tenth Amendment by federalizing state troops without sufficient justification.
Judge Breyer’s ruling had emphasized that there was no rebellion, invasion, or obstruction of federal law, calling Trump’s invocation of emergency powers “constitutionally hollow.”
