Left: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.J. Center: Sens. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. Right: Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. (AP/Rod Lamkey, Jr./File and REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/File Photo)
Padilla was eventually taken out of the room, brought to the ground and handcuffed, the videos showed. Fox News reporters who were present at the news conference said Padilla appeared to be detained for a period of time.
Padilla has claimed, "I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful or disruptive, and I don’t think I was" and "I was simply asking a question just as the members of the press corps ask questions, members of the Congress, members of the Senate ask questions to do our job to hold the administration accountable."
The letter, sent by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and joined by hundreds more other lawmakers, was sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Monday.
The letter was signed by the likes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
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Sen. Alex Padilla (Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Johnson has said that his view of Padilla’s behavior before the incident was "wildly inappropriate," telling reporters, "You don’t charge a sitting Cabinet secretary, and everybody can draw their own conclusions."
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Thune spoke to Padilla and Senate Sergeant at Arms Jennifer Hemingway about the incident.
Responding to the letter, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, told Fox News Digital that "this letter won’t fool anyone."
"Padilla lunged towards Secretary Noem’s podium in the middle of a press conference, resisted law enforcement, and didn’t immediately identify himself," she said. "Democrats are so desperate to talk about anything other than their supporters violently rioting in L.A. that they’re trying to make a martyr out of a senator who acted like a kindergartner throwing a temper tantrum."
Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/over-200-democrats-sign-letter-condemning-unprecedented-removal-senator-from-dhs-presser