On July 12, 2025, Homeland Security agents shoved Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) out the door of a department press conference when he tried to ask a question of Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. The secretary had deployed hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the sanctuary city of Los Angeles, where they unleashed tear gas on outraged residents. Video of security agents in LA knocking Padilla to the ground, ordering him to “lay flat” while handcuffing him, went viral on social media. Overnight, the son of Mexican immigrants became a symbol of resistance to MAGA race hatred.

Yet, three weeks later, the liberal darling would join Adam Schiff, California’s other senator and one of the biggest recipients of AIPAC largess, to vote agai

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