Ranking Member Thompson, Homeland Democrats Demand Chairman Green Have Kristi Noem Testify on Assault of Senator Padilla
“Unfortunately, the Secretary is, at best, complicit in President Trump’s efforts to dismantle our democracy and replace it with an authoritarian-style government”
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, led Committee Democrats in sending a letter to outgoing Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) to demand he call Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem before the Committee to testify about the egregious treatment of Senator Alex Padilla during a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press conference yesterday in Los Angeles, California.
This was the second occasion that law enforcement entities under her control have used force to obstruct congressional oversight. The buck is supposed to stop with her - and she has an obligation to understand, own, and correct the terrible mistreatment of Senator Padilla.
“The Department’s actions are not only an affront to congressional prerogatives afforded by the Constitution, but to rule of law and democracy itself,” the members wrote. “The Committee must not stand by idly.”
“What happened to Senator Padilla was completely unacceptable, and it is part of the Trump administration’s assault on American democracy. If this is how the administration treats a United States Senator in full public view, imagine what it would do to Americans behind closed doors.”
During Trump’s first term, his then DHS Secretary had already testified twice before the Committee by June 2017.
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