Bloomberg Government: Padilla Rises as Senate Democratic Voice After Immigration Clash
By Lillianna Byington
Until recently, Sen. Alex Padilla was one of the least recognizable and less divisive members in a chamber increasingly filled with lawmakers who relish partisan warfare.
But in the months since President Donald Trump took office, Padilla, the senior Democratic senator from the nation’s most populous state, has landed squarely in the center of some of the most heated political battles.
Padilla drew national attention when federal agents forced him to the ground and handcuffed him as he sought to question Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during her June press conference on government efforts to crack down on immigration protests in Los Angeles. He’s maintained a high profile since the incident, pushing for aid in the aftermath of Los Angeles’ deadly wildfires, proposing immigration legislation to respond to Trump, and bashing Republicans for skirting Senate rules.
Democrats are keeping Padilla’s voice in the spotlight as they seek to shore up the party’s slipping Hispanic support, particularly among men, in advance of the 2026 elections. There are six Hispanic senators, four of them Democrats.
Immigration is core to Padilla’s start in politics. He joined protests in 1994 against California’s Proposition 187, which aimed to deny benefits to immigrants. When he became the youngest member of the Los Angeles City Council at 26, he dedicated his first term to his parents, who immigrated from Mexico. Los Angeles is an inflection point in the immigration debate as federal authorities recently swept in city parks using agents on horseback.
Padilla has since introduced bills to counter the administration by pushing to require immigration officers to display identification during enforcement (S.2212) and to expand a pathway to lawful permanent residency (S.2468). Padilla said he “absolutely” plans to keep focusing on the issue, pointing to recent threats to those covered by DACA, which provides temporary protection from deportation for undocumented immigrants brought to this country at a young age.
“It’s just another example of the extreme measures this administration is going to in their zealous attempt to either deport migrants or force migrants to deport,” said Padilla, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, said in an interview Wednesday.
He has hammered that message on and off the Senate floor.
“I refuse to be silent and I refuse to let Latinos be used as pawns in Trump’s political games,” Padilla said at a recent conference with Latino officials.
Although immigration has propelled Padilla onto the national stage, Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College, said there’s a risk for a politician being too strongly associated with one issue.
“He can be an effective voice for the Democratic Party on this issue because he has the ability and the personal connection,” Michelson said. “But I would imagine that there’s going to be care taken to make sure he’s not too closely linked to the issue, because he needs to also be able to persuasively say to Californians, I’m here for all of you.”
Engineer ‘Nerd’
Padilla’s colleagues’ response to his immigration clash has been predictably divided along political lines, with Republicans quick to criticize his action at the press conference as a political stunt.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called for censuring him, while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said he should be prosecuted. Even more measured members like Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said it could have been handled better on both sides.
Vice President JD Vance called it “political theater” and incorrectly referred to him as “Jose Padilla.” California Democrats suggested it was not accidental the vice president chose the name Jose Padilla, who was convicted more than 15 years ago of aiding terrorists.
Democrats say Padilla’s demeanor is not one of a flamethrower.
“To see my colleague pushed, manhandled, taken to the ground, arms put behind his back—this person who anyone who meets will say is more of a gentle giant than someone who deserves that kind of treatment. It blows my mind,” Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) said.
A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Padilla refers to himself as an “EngiNERD” on social media. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said he hadn’t heard Padilla raise his voice. Sen. Adam Schiff, California’s junior Democratic senator, said he was disgusted by how Padilla was treated.
Rules Fights
A former member of the California state Senate, Padilla served as secretary of state before being appointed in 2021 by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) to the US Senate when then-Sen. Kamala Harris was elected vice president. In 2022, Padilla won a special election to complete Harris’ term as well as a full Senate term, becoming the first Latino to represent California in the Senate. He will be up for re-election in 2028.
In the Senate, he’s moved up the ranks to become top Democrat on Rules Committee as Republicans have explored upending the chamber’s rules to pass their agenda.
He decried the Senate vote in May to overturn California’s ability to set vehicle emission standards with a simple majority, even though Democrats and watchdogs said it didn’t meet the threshold to overturn those particular regulations.
This week, he led in calling for an investigation into the administration’s efforts to push for redistricting in Texas and other states.
Padilla recently protested the Trump administration’s move to roll back approved spending through rescissions. To show his displeasure, he broke with most of his Democratic colleagues and voted against a procedural step to advance a bipartisan appropriations bill.
“I want to make sure that our Republican colleagues aren’t simply going to undo a good faith agreement when the president tells them to,” Padilla told Bloomberg Government.
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