Today in Politics, Bulletin 150. 6/12/25

… Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) was forcibly dragged out of DHS Sec Kristi Noem’s press conference by multiple FBI agents today when he showed up to ask her questions. Congressional Hispanic Caucus: “This is unacceptable, full stop. Sen Padilla attended an open press conference to engage in debate, to represent his state, to do his job. We demand a full investigation and consequences for every official involved in this assault against a sitting US senator.”

… Padilla was dragged out of the room into the hallway where he was pinned to the ground and handcuffed by multiple federal agents.

… Noem at the presser: “We are not leaving. We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country."

… That’s not what the federal government and the military is supposed to do. That’s called a military coup.

… Noem then went on Fox and gave this lame explanation: “Nobody knew who he was when he came into the room creating a scene. He was removed from the room and yes, they started to put handcuffs on him. When he finally identified himself and that was stopped.”

… This lame-ass story doesn’t match the videos. He was yelling the whole time that he was a senator as soon as they started talking to him, and when they were grabbing and pushing him. They didn’t care.

… Padilla outside after he was finally released from custody: “If this is how the administration responds to a Senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farmworkers, cooks, and day laborers throughout the country.”

… Mike Madrid, from The Latino Vote podcast: “Hard to describe how angered and passionate Senator Alex Padilla is right now. I’ve known him for 25 years and never seen anything like this. It’s so out of character for his measured personality - he’s a living example of how Latinos feel right now.”

… Gov Gavin Newsom: “If they can handcuff a US Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you.”

… House Speaker Mike Johnson said Padilla should be punished by the Senate, despite the fact that he did nothing wrong: “This at a minimum raises to a censure.”

… It looks like TACO Trump got some panicked phone calls from his rich Republican friends who own businesses that employ migrant workers. He posted: “Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

… It will be interesting to watch this play out. The MAGA activists want everyone deported. Stephen Miller in the WH, Tom Homan at ICE, and people like Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk on their podcasts want them all out immediately. But many of Trump’s biggest donors can’t run their businesses without migrant labor. Now the rubber is meeting the road on that.

… Reuters: “Glenn Valley Foods was operating an Omaha, NE facility with 30% of its staff on Wed after fed agents detained workers in an immigration raid the previous day, slashing the output of products it sells to grocery stores and restaurants. Livestock traders and market analysts expressed concerns that the potential deportation of undocumented workers could disrupt US food production at a time when beef prices have soared and meat processors report a labor shortage.”

… “ICE agents detained 74-76 workers out of roughly 140 at the Glenn Valley Foods plant. Other workers did not show up on Wed because they felt afraid or traumatized. The facility's production dropped to about 20% of normal. Glenn Valley Foods sells steak, chicken and corned beef products to restaurants and grocery stores. Retail beef prices have set records as the size of the US cattle herd has declined to its lowest level in 70 years after a years-long drought raised feed costs.”

… KABC: “ICE targeted workers on produce farms in Ventura County. Farm workers said that ICE agents arrived at an Oxnard farm at around 6 AM. Video posted online showed ICE agents chasing after some of the workers as they fled the fields. Workers said they had anxiety about going to work because they feared ICE would show up while they worked: "What I fear is that sometimes out of necessity, it forces us to show up wherever there's work. Because of everything that is happening, it is a bit difficult for us."

… Oxnard mayor Luis McArthur: "We have received reports of ICE agents attempting to enter agricultural fields in our city and also stopping vehicles. These actions are completely unjustified and harmful. They create chaos and distress in our community without contributing much to public safety."

… NYT: “Rev. Tanya Lopez, senior pastor of Downey Memorial Christian Church, said she was in her office on Wed when 3 SUVs with tinted windows pulled up to her church. Then 5 men, some wearing badges and tan bulletproof vests that said ‘POLICE,’ rushed out of the vehicles and detained a man in the parking lot. The men refused to identify which agency they worked for, and they did not share their names or badge numbers when asked. Their vehicles had out-of-state license plates. They also did not provide a warrant. They took the man into a black SUV. Lopez said that as she shouted instructions in Spanish to the man inside the vehicle, an agent drew a rifle at her.”

… Rev. Al Lopez, another pastor at the church, said that he told the men he didn’t want them on his church’s property: “This will stand in my mind - this gentleman just shouted, ‘The whole country is our property!’”

… City Council member Mario Trujillo: “These raids at Home Depots, restaurants, places of worship or schools, are not keeping our community safe. They are creating havoc and fear.”

… Heavy-handed ICE enforcement could cause serious issues for spectators and fans from around the world who were planning to travel to the US for the FIFA World Cup. Incidents like this won’t help. The FL Immigrant Coalition: “A boat transporting individuals to a Telemundo party celebrating one year out from the World Cup was boarded by the Coast Guard. They checked the immigration status of the staff on the boat. The mayor of Miami-Dade, FIFA officials, and Telemundo leadership were present.”

… Politico: “SecDef Pete Hegseth refused to say whether he would follow the courts if they ruled against Trump’s deployment of active-duty Marines to LA. The Pentagon chief repeatedly deflected when asked Thurs at a House Armed Services Committee hearing whether he would respect a fed district or Supreme Court decision on the issue: “What I can say is we should not have local judges determining foreign policy or national security policy for the country.”

… MSNBC reported that Trump is about deploy ICE military-style tactical units to 5 Democratic-run cities: NYC, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia and Alexandria, VA. He wants to spark clashes and confrontations between fed authorities in as many Democratic strongholds as possible just like he did in LA.

… While many Republicans wanted to quickly pass a standalone funding bill for ICE and deportations immediately after Trump took office, budget director Russ Vought wanted to package it with their entire budget and tax cuts to use it to blackmail Republicans to vote for the entire package (including Medicaid cuts) or make mass deportations fiscally impossible.

… Vought threw down the gauntlet to the holdouts last night on OAN: “There’s a point, probably in July, where we’re going to run out of money. Critical border security resources have to come soon. They have to come in July for ICE and CBP to have the necessary resources to continue their work.”

… Punchbowl: “Things are not going well inside the Senate GOP meeting with Stephen Miller, per sources. Sen. Ron Johnson and Miller got in a ‘shouting match’ over the border security funding number. Johnson said Miller’s numbers don’t add up. Lots of GOP senators leaving the room frustrated. Text from a GOP senator: “We’re fighting over an issue that unifies us. Can’t wrap my head around it.’”

… Sec of State Marco Rubio issued this statement: “On behalf of the American people, I want to congratulate the Russian people on Russia Day. The US remains committed to supporting the Russian people as they continue to build on their aspirations for a brighter future.”

… Lil Marco would have sent Hitler a Christmas card in 1943.

… WaPo: “Some Trump supporters are calling for a Walmart boycott after an heiress to the nation’s largest retailer took out an ad in the NYT to promote a protest of the president’s policies. The full-page ad, which appeared in the newspaper Sunday and was paid for by Christy Walton, advertises ‘No Kings Day’ gatherings across the country Saturday. The mobilizing events coincide with Trump’s military parade in DC.”

… “Some influential Trump allies were posting about the ad on social media. Kari Lake, the senior adviser to the US Agency for Global Media, overseeing the Voice of America, reposted the ad on X and wrote: ‘Do you shop at Walmart?’”

… Among the lawmakers joining the fray was Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who connected the ad directly to Walmart as she posted on X: “Looks like the Walmart dynasty is big mad about China Tariffs.”

… Walmart responded: “The ads from Christy Walton are in no way connected to or endorsed by Walmart. She does not serve on the board or play any role in decision-making at Walmart.”

… New Quinnipiac Poll:

• Trump Approval-38%, Disapprove-54%

• Approve of Budget Bill-27%, Disapprove-53%

• Handling of immigration: Approve-43%, Disapprove-54%

• Handling of economy: Approve-40%, Disapprove-56%

• Handling of trade policy: Approve-38%, Disapprove-57%

• Handling of universities: Approve-37%, Disapprove-54%

• Handling of Russia-Ukraine war: Approve-34%, Disapprove-57%

… New AP Poll: AP Poll: Trump Approval-39%, Disapprove - 60%.

Trump continues to march us towards an autocracy on a variety of fronts, but it is good to see the resistance get more organized and more effective in pushing back. Trump’s overreach and the incompetence and clownishness of his appointees is finally being recognized even by voters who don’t pay much attention to politics. The big question is, will there ever be a bridge too far for some Republicans in Congress before some of them will finally say enough?

If you missed the last Bulletin, you can find it here.

… Gavin Newsom questioned Trump’s cognitive abilities to Fox26 after Trump did it to Biden for 4 years: "He's lost it. He has lost a step. And I saw him trip on the steps. This is serious. He is not the same person that I dealt with just four years ago. And he's incapable now of even a train of thought. He's making things up and he's