WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) delivered impromptu remarks on the Senate Floor outraged after seeing video footage of his colleague, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) being forcibly removed from a press conference hosted by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Video of Senator Kim’s Full Remarks

Key quotes from Senator Kim’s remarks:

“I have no words to describe just the absurdity of this moment and the dangers to our country and our union.”

“The idea that just, as I just saw the video, one of my colleagues here thrown to the floor, handcuffed, humiliated, is not a humiliation of that individual senator. It’s a humiliation of this body. The shamefulness by which that was perpetrated, that Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, shame upon those that instigated this, that followed through on this. It is something that all of us collectively need to stand against.”

“This isn’t about partisanship. It’s about what does this institution, what does this body mean and whether or not our words and our actions as dictated by our oath that we swear to the constitution of Article 1 as well, that lays out what our job is, that that is very much under threat right now.”

“I hope that is something that every American in this country sees, that they see the actions that have taken place. And as someone who has worked in other nations, I worked in diplomacy, in national security, I worked in nations with authoritarian leadership, I never thought I would see anything like this here at home. Transpire here in the way that we saw it unfold.”

“I wanted to serve in this body because of what it stood for. I wanted to serve in this institution because I believe that this is an institution of incredible honor, integrity. And even at this challenging moment in this country’s history, we need this body to be able to come together.”

“So I call on all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to condemn this action, to stand united with one voice, standing up for ourselves. Otherwise we will just cast ourselves to the margins of irrelevance of this nation right now.”

“I am outraged, and I hope others are too. This is not a time to be silent. This is a time for us to be united and show the rest of the country what this institution means. Otherwise we might as well go home. I for one want to fight for my colleague, fight for each other, fight for the Senate, and fight for our democracy.”

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