Democratic Rep. John Mannion erupted at fellow New York Rep. Mike Lawler (R) on the House floor Thursday afternoon — with no shortage of f-bombs — in apparent outrage over Sen. Alex Padilla’s (D-Calif.) incident with law enforcement earlier in the day.
The blowup — some of which was picked up by the cameras in the House chamber — came shortly after Padilla was forcibly removed from a press conference Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was holding in Los Angeles and handcuffed, prompting a debate in the Capitol over who should be condemned for the altercation: the senator or law enforcement officials.
Video of the House floor caught Mannion’s booming voice, with the New York lawmaker yelling, “Get on your f—ing side, Lawler.”
“This is f—ing madness, man. We’ve had enough. F—ing get over there and get some f—ing balls,” Mannion could be heard saying.
At that point the chamber grew quiet, with lawmakers in both parties stopping their conversations and turning their attention to the dispute on the Democratic side of the chamber. Many looked confused in the immediate aftermath.
“Tell them. Tell them. You know who I am. You know who I am, a New Yorker just like you,” Mannion added. “The country’s falling apart.”
In a post on the social platform X after the incident, Lawler called Mannion’s conduct “entirely unhinged and unprofessional.”
“That was a shameful display that exposed his complete lack of temperament,” he added. “No wonder numerous staffers have previously alleged a toxic work environment. He should go seek help for anger management — and f— off.”
Asked about the altercation, Lawler told The Hill: “I told him to go f— himself.”
Mannion’s office passed along a statement from the congressman defending his actions, referencing Padilla’s arrest as well as immigration raids as the Trump administration aims to deliver on his promise of mass deportations.
“I’m a kid from Tipp Hill that’s fighting for my hometown and my country. I’m giving everything I have to stop the rise of authoritarian government and the destruction of American democracy,” Mannion said in a statement. “If making some noise on the House floor and calling out Trump enablers draws attention to what’s happening to our country right before our eyes — good. Today it’s roughing up and handcuffing a United States Senator and a politicized military patrolling the streets of American cities.”
“It’s the willing abandonment of the rule of law and a gross fealty to a want-to-be dictator who is tearing the country apart. None of this is normal or okay,” Mannion continued. “I’m always going to stand up and speak out and fight for the people of this country.”
The House floor squabble was not the only confrontation in the Capitol on Thursday: As Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) delivered remarks about the Padilla incident — endorsing censure for the senator — a string of House Democrats heckled the Speaker.
Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-Calif), who represents the San Francisco Bay area, shouted, “Mike, that’s absurd.” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) yelled “why don’t you stand up for Congress?” Another House Democrat exclaimed “that’s a lie.”
Asked to respond to some of the remarks, Johnson declined.
“I’m not going to respond to that,” the Speaker said. “I think the American people can draw their own conclusions. They saw a senator acting like a, wildly inappropriate, I’ll leave it at that.”
“What I saw was agents asking him to quiet down so that the secretary could continue her press conference. He refused to do so. What were they supposed to do? They have to restrain someone who is engaging in that kind of behavior. They moved him out of the room,” Johnson later added. “A sitting member of Congress should not act like that, it is beneath a member of Congress, it is beneath a U.S. senator. They are supposed to lead by example, and that is not a good example.”
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