Senator Merkley Condemns DHS Actions Against Senator Padilla as Authoritarian

Outrage Over Senator Padilla's Removal

• 🚨 Senator Jeff Merkley expressed extreme outrage over the executive branch's security team forcibly removing Senator Alex Padilla from a DHS briefing.
• 📌 The incident involved shoving a US senator, putting them on the ground, and half-handcuffing them, actions Merkley likened to those in authoritarian nations.

Concerns About Executive Overreach

• ⚖️ Merkley criticized the current administration for willfully breaking laws and attacking institutions, including the press, universities, and law firms.
• 🏛️ He specifically cited the Trump v. United States lawsuit as an attempt by the president to declare himself above the law, including the power to issue pardons.
• ⚠️ The senator warned that if a subservient Congress and a differential Supreme Court allow the US to slide into an authoritarian state, the oath to the Constitution has been failed.

Call for Investigation

• 🤝 Merkley echoed Leader Schumer's call for a full bipartisan investigation into the incident.
• ✊ He emphasized that all senators, as members of the legislative branch, must stand up for each other and their ability to question administration policies.