Congress
Democrats seize on Padilla video as a unifying immigration message
Democrats believe they’ve found a compelling new message on immigration — thanks to a viral image of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) in handcuffs.
Padilla, who was forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference about ICE raids in California, earned support from fellow Democrats and triggered outrage over what they see as the administration’s overreach.
“If they can handcuff a U.S. Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a post on X.
It’s a snappier paraphrase of Padilla’s own words: “If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question. If this is how the Department of Homeland Security responds to a senator with a question,” he said at a hastily organized press conference Thursday afternoon. “You can only imagine what they’re doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country.”
Immigration has long vexed Democrats, who face an enormous deficit of public trust on the issue, but now they think they’ve found a way forward. Padilla, a mild-mannered first-term senator, has become the embodiment of the new message from Democrats, who are not arguing whether deportations should be carried out but take issue with the reckless way they’re being done. And they’re enraged at the administration’s effort to tamp down on protests, which Democrats say is unlawful and inciting chaos.
“When people talk about rising to the moment in history, it is a sitting U.S. senator putting his body on the line to highlight injustice in our country,” said Kristian Ramos, a Democratic strategist who worked on immigration issues for more than a decade. “It underlines the fact that the Republican Party and Donald Trump do not care about laws in this country.”
On Capitol Hill, Democratic members, led by the Hispanic Caucus, marched to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s offices to demand that Noem testify before Congress about the incident.
Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois and Wes Moore of Maryland, both of whom are considered presidential contenders in 2028, took to social media to express similar sentiments.
“This is Donald Trump’s America, where they attack our freedoms,” Pritzker wrote. “We cannot be intimidated or scared by their abuses of power.”
Moore added: “The weaponization of our justice system and the normalization of political violence is unacceptable.”
It was a unifying moment around a singular message for the party, which so far has struggled to succinctly push back on Trump.
A number of Democrats quickly used the incident to fundraise, too.
“All Alex was trying to do was ask a question and do his job of oversight,” read one email from the campaign of Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who asked supporters to split donations between his campaign and Padilla’s.
“There can be no justification for this,” said a subject line from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.).
“What happened to Senator Alex Padilla this afternoon is appalling,” read a message from Shenna Bellows, a Democrat running for governor in Maine.
Still, even as Democrats saw a clear opportunity to change the tone on immigration, Republicans cast Democrats as the ones welcoming the chaos.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, sought to cast Padilla as the agitator, saying he was “shoving law enforcement officers” to get his way back to Noem’s attention, adding, “Incredibly aggressive behavior for a sitting U.S. senator.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) accused Padilla of enacting a political stunt, telling reporters Thursday he “got what he wanted, he’s on TV.” Others pointed out Padilla was not wearing his Senate pin, though he verbally identified himself a senator.
Johnson told reporters that “at a minimum” Padilla’s behavior “rises to the level of a censure.”
Other Republicans compared Thursday’s incident to other recent actions from Democrats — including Rep. LaMonica McIver’s recent indictment — as proof the party is out of control.
“Democrat officials and their staffers are growing increasingly radical and extreme,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson, in a statement to Blue Light News. “It’s alarming they think they can obstruct federal law enforcement or physically push officers while charging a cabinet secretary without consequence.”
Democrats are banking on the idea that the Padilla incident can change the conversation on LA unrest, even as protests are planned across the country this weekend to coincide with Trump’s planned military parade.
“When the government overreaches like this in such a blatant manner, it allows for us to have a conversation with lots of people who may not be political observers,” said Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, which is organizing the “No Kings” demonstrations Saturday in 1,800 locations nationwide.
Mitchell pointed out that the Trump administration has already detained a Democratic mayor in New Jersey, arrested a judge in Wisconsin and indicted a Democratic congressmember in his effort to intimidate those who question the legality of his immigration actions.
“Think about what they might do to you, if you’re on their shit list,” he said.
Jessica Piper and Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing contributed to this report.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he plans to stay on the court through next year, brushing aside speculation that he could retire early and let President Donald Trump fill his seat after the election but before a new Congress is sworn in next year.
“I intend to stick around through this term,” Alito, 76, said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “I made that decision many months ago.”
The Supreme Court began its new term on Monday, which will last through next June.
Alito, the second-oldest justice on the bench, was in the news last week after telling CBS News that he considered retiring this year and will do so again in 2027.
His comments come as the fight over control of the Senate is in a dead heat. Democrats would have to flip at least four seats, but recent polls show several races, including in states Trump carried easily two years ago, remain competitive.
Several Senate Democratic candidates are already running on the prospect of filling a seat on the Supreme Court or, at least, denying Trump’s ability to do so. Senate Republicans successfully blocked a Democratic nominee in 2016, allowing Trump to fill the seat after he came into the White House.
“Our race to decide Ohio’s next Senator could not only determine control of the U.S. Senate, but also who fills a lifetime seat on the highest court in the land,” Sherrod Brown, the Democratic nominee in Ohio, wrote in a blog post Monday. “Ohio’s next senator could be our first line of defense against another partisan Supreme Court Justice — or rubber stamp a Trump nominee.”
John Thune has money on his mind in the final stretch before the midterms.
The Senate majority leader, in an exclusive conversation Monday with Blue Light News on the campaign trail, said funding for Republicans has dominated his recent conversations with President Donald Trump and his staff as the party tries to divvy up its spending to hold onto seats in closer-than-expected races while picking up spots in other states.
“I think the president is sincerely interested in trying to do whatever he can to help the team,” Thune said. “You know, some of the states have gotten very expensive.”
Thune’s focus highlights the emerging story defining the 2026 midterms: Is there enough Republican money, and can it be spent fast enough to counter surging Democratic campaigns and a lackluster national environment for the GOP?
Thune was at a news conference Monday with Senate GOP candidate Michele Tafoya in Minnesota — a state where the party increasingly sees a pickup opportunity after Democrats nominated progressive Peggy Flanagan.
Minnesota is one possible state where Trump could deploy his $400 million war chest, Thune said. But he was vague when asked about Republicans’ potential commitment to the race. He named Michigan and New Hampshire as other GOP pickup opportunities.
Republicans are simultaneously having to play defense in a growing list of red states, like Iowa, Kansas and Alaska. And the Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund recently pulled back spending in North Carolina — essentially surrendering a GOP-held seat to Democrats — while increasing its spending in Kansas.
Thune referred to the super PAC’s North Carolina decision as a “pause” in financial support.
And then there’s Texas, where Republicans are deploying hundreds of millions of dollars as they struggle to drag GOP nominee Ken Paxton over the finish line. Thune said “dedicated donors” focused on Texas have prevented the need to siphon funding away from other states.
Thune declined Monday to put odds on the GOP’s chances of keeping Senate control, but repeated, “I think we can keep the majority.”
The results may carry personal stakes for him, as he is expected to run for leader again. And while no other senator has raised their hand against him, some conservatives have questioned whether Trump would publicly turn on Thune if Republicans lose.
“I can’t control that,” Thune said, adding that the Republican conference would ultimately make the decision. “What the president does or doesn’t do … you just move forward and let the chips fall where they may.”
What else we’re watching:
— THUNE CHECKS TRUMP’S DAYLIGHT SAVING ZEAL — Thune also said Monday there is no “consensus” yet on Congress establishing permanent daylight saving time — even as Trump ramps up pressure to pass it. “The president feels strongly on it like he does a lot of issues,” Thune said. “It’s something we’re having conversations about, but there’s no clear path forward or consensus on it yet.” Thune also made clear that while Trump singled out Sen. Tom Cotton for scrutiny, opposition to the bill — which would lead to late winter sunrises in some parts of the country — runs deeper than one senator.
— BUCKS FOR BABIES PLAN DRAWS MURRAY IRE — Top Democratic appropriator Patty Murray is blasting a Trump administration plan to reward communities with high birth and marriage rates with a bigger share of federal transit money. “Tying funding for transit projects to marriage rates and how many babies a woman has is the sort of bizarre and dystopian idea you’d expect in a TV show, not actual policy put forth by the U.S. government — yet here we are,” Murray said in a statement. The Federal Transit Administration wants to revamp a multibillion-dollar program that helps state and local authorities fund infrastructure projects such as rail improvements and new bus lanes. The agency opened public feedback on the plan this month.
Jordain Carney and Sam Ogozalek contributed to this report.
LE SUEUR, Minnesota — The word on John Thune’s mind these days is “resources.”
In the Senate majority leader’s recollection, it was a dominant topic in his recent conversations with President Donald Trump, including at a recent visit to the White House, not to mention in his frequent conversation with Trump’s political team — and in an exclusive conversation with Blue Light News Monday during a Midwest campaign swing.
“I think the president is sincerely interested in trying to do whatever he can to help the team,” Thune said about his midterm conversations with the president and his advisers. “I also share with him, too, the importance of just the resources in some of these states. You know, some of the states have gotten very expensive.”
As Trump focuses on turning out his own voters — a message the president is taking into his own hands in a series of preelection rallies — Thune is making sure he also has money on his mind: “I … just conveyed to him the importance of ensuring that our candidates are well-resourced.”
Thune’s focus underscores the emerging question defining the 2026 midterms: Is there enough Republican money, and can it be spent fast enough, to counter surging Democratic campaigns and a lackluster national environment for the GOP?
It’s a narrative both sides largely agree on — Thune’s Democratic counterpart, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said as much last week — even as each leader insists his side will prevail.
Thune declined Monday to put odds on the GOP’s chances of keeping control of the Senate but said repeatedly, “I think we can keep the majority.”
“I think all of these races are margin of error, at least the ones that we have to win,” he added. “And historically, at least if you look at polls, we tend to outperform them.”
Unlike Schumer, who is keeping a low profile in October and focusing on private fundraising, Thune is barnstorming the country — visiting a mix of deep-red and battleground states.
Minnesota was not expected to be in play for Republicans when Thune took over as leader nearly two years ago. Democratic incumbent Sen. Tina Smith had a clear path to reelection in a state that has not elected a GOP senator since 2002.
But Smith chose to retire, and Democrats nominated an unabashed progressive, Peggy Flanagan, who is now facing Michele Tafoya, the well-known former sportscaster, in November. Recent public polls have shown the race in single digits, and Thune was not shy about including it alongside Michigan and New Hampshire as a GOP pickup opportunity.
Mentioning Minnesota is one thing, but investing in it is another, and national groups affiliated with Thune have not made major investments in the state so far. Standing next to Thune at a news conference Monday, Tafoya made the case for that to change.
“We have had three or four straight weeks of really solid polls,” she said. “This is one worth investing in. We are right there.”
But they both kept things vague when asked about Washington Republicans’ potential commitment to the race — including how much cash would be necessary to overcome 24 years of futility and a bad political environment.
Both Thune and Tafoya used the same words to answer that question: “We haven’t had that conversation.”
Thune put the party’s spending decisions into a larger context: “If the president is looking for places where he can make a difference … we’re in touch on a daily basis with his team and hopefully they will — as they already have — continue to help us leverage the resources that we’ve got to bring to bear to get the best possible impact and outcome in these key states.”
Thune pointed to Minnesota as one possible state where Trump could choose to deploy his $400-million-plus war chest. But the tiny national footprint in the Gopher State pales next to the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent in Texas — an expensive state Thune and Trump continue to discuss as Republicans struggle to drag Senate nominee Ken Paxton over the finish line.
Asked about the super-sized investments there, Thune declined to connect the massive spending on Paxton to tough decisions elsewhere on the map. “Dedicated donors” focused on Texas, he said, have meant GOP groups haven’t yet had to siphon funding away from other key states.
But the tough decisions are nevertheless underway. As Republican candidates play defense in a growing list of red states, the Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund recently pulled back spending in North Carolina — essentially surrendering a GOP-held seat to Democrats — while increasing its spending in Kansas.
Thune referred to the decision as a “pause” in financial support for nominee Michael Whatley.
The reasons for the political headwinds were on display Monday at an agriculture-focused roundtable, where Thune and Tafoya heard about the impact of Trump’s trade war with Canada, the president’s decision to import foreign beef and the high diesel prices that followed his decision to attack Iran.
Thune, a South Dakotan fluent in farm-state politics, touted Tafoya as someone who could help address some of those concerns by being a “great voice on issues like agriculture” if she makes it to the Senate.
His broader message in the interview, however, was to cast the midterm election as “choice” between the two parties rather than a referendum on the Iran war and the ensuing spike in energy prices. Democrats want “more spending,” “higher costs,” and “open borders,” he said, while Republicans had put “more money in your pockets” with their 2025 tax bill.
“Iran is temporary,” he said. “It will be behind us. Gas prices are going to come down, so who do you want to invest in for the next two years, four years?”
The midterm results carry personal stakes for Thune, who is expected to run for leader again in internal Senate GOP elections that are expected to take place just days after the midterms, regardless of the outcome.
Thune remains well-liked within the Senate GOP conference, and no other senator has raised his or her hand to run against him. But some conservatives, in and out of the Senate, have privately questioned whether Trump would publicly turn on Thune if Republicans lose their majority.
Asked about that possibility, Thune said, “I can’t control that.” He added that “the Republican conference” would ultimately make the decision.
“What the president does or doesn’t do … you just move forward and let the chips fall where they may,” he said. “All I can say is, I’m with him and his team to do the things I think are good for the future of the country.”
When Blue Light News pointed out Trump defended Thune at last month’s GOP midterm convention after some in the crowd booed the mention of his name, he laughed.
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “It’s the little things, right?”
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