Despite all the talk of Republican spending cuts, there was only one thing on the minds of reporters in the halls of Congress on Thursday: what had just happened to Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
"Did the federal agents go too far," I asked. "Was that a bridge too far?"
A long line of angry House Democrats squeezed past Johnson in the Will Rogers corridor. But because Johnson chose to speak in such a heavily-trafficked locale, Democrats hectored Johnson as they marched to the Senate.
"Yes it was!" shouted an unidentified Democrat as she strode past the scrum, answering my question for Johnson.
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But Johnson immediately pivoted to what Padilla did, standing up at Noem’s press conference to holler questions at her from the back of the room.
"It was wildly inappropriate," said Johnson of Padilla as he spoke to the Capitol press corps. "You don’t charge a sitting cabinet secretary…"
"That’s a lie!" shouted another unidentified Democrat.
"A lie!" yelled someone else.
Johnson's talks of spending cuts were quickly dashed by reporters demanding an explanation about Padilla. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
"Mike! Mike!" said Dean, trying to capture Johnson’s attention. "It’s Madeline."
Johnson finally realized that "Madeleine" wasn’t some reporter trying to squeeze in an extra question for the Speaker. But someone he obviously knew. A fellow lawmaker. Someone from across the aisle with whom he must have a friendship and working relationship.
Johnson and Dean spoke in hushed tones as they walked quietly across Statuary Hall. Some in the press corps followed, trying to divine what they were saying. This wasn’t an offstage chat back in the Speaker’s Suite or on a private telephone call. But it went down in a very public part of the U.S. Capitol.
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The conversation continued as the duo stopped adjacent to the "British Steps" near the Speaker’s Office. Dean clenched both of her hands into fists as she and the Speaker were about to part ways. She lightly touched Johnson on the right arm as he ducked into the Speaker’s Office.
"Thank you, sir," said Dean.
"What were you speaking to the Speaker about?" I asked the Congresswoman.
"I just want to keep that to myself," answered Dean. "But the one thing I wanted to say is that it’s up to the President to turn the temperature down. Everyone is inflamed. And agitated. But it starts with the President. He said ‘I’m talking to the President,’" said Dean.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Padilla's plight "despicable" and "disgusting." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
"This is the stuff of dictatorships. It is actually happening," said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.
"It's despicable. It's disgusting. It is so un-American," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
"I think it's unprecedented," said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. "It's obnoxious, and it's rather escalatory."
But the outrage wasn’t limited to Democrats.
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"I’ve seen that one clip. It’s horrible. It is shocking at every level. And it’s not the America I know," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski," R-Alaska.
The band of Democrats who ran over to Thune’s office never did find him. But by nightfall, Thune said he spoke to Padilla, Senate Sergeant at Arms Jennifer Hemingway and tried to contact Noem.
"We want to get the full scope of what happened," said Thune.
This falls against the backdrop of the feds charging Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., for assaulting federal agents at a Newark detention facility earlier this spring. These episodes have shaken Congress.
Lawmakers wonder what would happen if the shoe were on the other foot. And despite the partisan chasms, they’re all lawmakers. They know that if something like this can happen to Padilla, well, they could be next.
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Confidence and trust are waning.
"I remain hopeful that Leader Thune and other Republicans can walk us back from the brink," said Schatz. "But I am not so sure anymore."
Chad Pergram currently serves as a senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/padilla-cuffed-mciver-indicted-congress-come-back-brink