House Dem breaks with party on McIver and Padilla incidents (No Labels Problem Solver Jared Golden of Maine)

[Celerity]

Democrats in Congress have largely closed ranks around Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) — but centrist Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) is panning what he calls their "politics as theater."

https://www.axios.com/2025/06/12/alex-padilla-lamonica-mciver-jared-golden



Why it matters: Golden represents a district President Trump won last year and is always walking a careful line between supporting his party and maintaining his independence. On this, he is steering hard away from the party line. "I think that it's never good when a senator or member of Congress gets roughed up by law enforcement," he said in an interview with Axios at the Capitol. But, he added, "I don't think politics as theater is what our job is here."

What happened: Padilla was forcibly removed by law enforcement as he tried to confront Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem during a press conference at the Los Angeles FBI headquarters on Thursday. Officers detained Padilla, held him on the ground and handcuffed him, though the senator was later allowed to meet with Noem. The incident came after McIver was indicted for allegedly assaulting law enforcement during a scuffle with DHS officers outside an ICE facility in her home state last month, which she denies.

What he's saying: "Storming into the FBI headquarters and trying to break up a press conference and rushing on a [Cabinet] secretary is not really the job of an elected official," Golden said. Of McIver, he said: "Where I come from, if you shove a police officer, you're probably getting arrested." Still, he added: "I am not in any way saying that means law enforcement should be slamming people around."

The other side: "Everyone is entitled to their respective opinions. … For me, the video I saw was clear," Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), a member of Democratic leadership, told Axios when asked about Golden's comments. Padilla "was at his place of work. He works in that building. He went to the press conference ... he identified himself as a U.S. senator and then they manhandle him to the ground and arrest him," Garcia said. "I think it's crystal clear that that is unacceptable and an incredible overreach and quite dangerous ... and I think the American public is as outraged as the Congress."

snip



flashback:

[CousinIT]

1. Boy, BYE. n/t

[ananda]

2. Looks like, talks like...

a Republican.

[Captain Zero]

5. I think he is a stealth candidate in our party

Thanks for nothing, Jared.

[ananda]

7. Yeah. I think we have more than one of those...

in both houses.

I hate that.

[Celerity]

6. and far too often votes like one

background on Golden:

Jared Golden

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Golden#Political_positions

Tariffs

In 2025, Golden stood out as one of the only Democrats in Congress to openly support President Trump's tariff policy. He criticized his party’s perceived shift toward defending free trade deals and the stock market and "coming out strongly" against Trump's tariffs, advocating instead for his populist approach of "progressive conservatism." Golden expressed concern over Trump backing down from his tariff policy telling Axios, "My biggest worry is that they're going to do this and lose faith and political will and back away." He has opposed Democratic Rep. Greg Meeks' (D-N.Y.) measure in the house to "kill Trump's tariffs". Golden had introduced legislation in January 2025 that would put a universal 10% tariff on all imports into the U.S. His stance puts him at odds with House Democrats. Golden also dismissed the 2025 stock market crash that followed Trump's tariffs claiming, "The vast majority of Americans have no stocks."

Government funding

Golden was the only Democrat who voted for the Republican stopgap spending bill to avert a government, against the instructions by the House Democratic leadership.

COVID-19 pandemic

Golden in January 2023 was one of seven Democrats to vote with Republicans in favor of H.R.497, the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, which sought to lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers. A day later, he was among 12 Democrats who supported with Republicans a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.

George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

Golden was one of two Democrats to vote with Republicans against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. While he acknowledged the bill had many good provisions, such as creating a national registry for police misconduct, increasing data collection, promoting de-escalation tactics, and banning chokeholds unless deadly force was authorized, he expressed concern over its proposed restrictions on qualified immunity. Golden also criticized the lack of further negotiations since the bill's initial passage.

Education

Golden was one of two House Democrats, alongside Representative Gluesenkamp Perez, to side with Republicans in voting to overturn President Biden's student loan debt cancellation plan of 2023.

Guns

Golden was the only Democrat to oppose the Bipartisan Background Checks Act which aimed to expand background checks for gun purchases. He was also one of two Democrats, along with Ron Kind of Wisconsin, to vote against the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, which sought to close the Charleston loophole. Both bills passed the House in March 2021. In 2022, Golden and Kurt Schrader of Oregon were the only Democrats to vote against raising the minimum age for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. Later that year, Golden joined Republicans and four other Democrats in voting against a bill that proposed banning assault weapons. However, after the 2023 Lewiston shootings in his hometown, where 18 people were killed, Golden changed his stance. He apologized and called for a federal ban on assault weapons. He stated in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, "I really believe that any law-abiding and competent citizen should have fairly easy access to firearms."

Immigration

In 2025, Golden was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.

Infrastructure

Golden was the only House Democrat to vote with Republicans against the Build Back Better Act, citing concerns about the elimination of the $10,000 cap on the SALT deduction, "tax breaks for millionaires" in the bill and the lack of prescription drug pricing reform.

LGBT rights

Golden was one of four Democrats to join with the majority of House Republicans to pass the annual defense policy bill, which included provisions barring Pentagon funding for abortion and transgender surgeries.

Voting rights

On April 10, 2025, Golden was one of only four Democrats who joined all of the Republicans in the House in voting in favor of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, commonly known as the SAVE Act. The bill places strict requirements to prove American citizenship in order to vote in federal elections.

[dchill]

3. Film at eleven!

Turncoat becomes Projector!

[NewHendoLib]

4. just another asshole

[hatrack]

8. Great, Susan Collins with a dick . . . .

I'm sure he'll be very "concerned" about whatever it is . . .

[Keepthesoulalive]

9. This is what I've been saying about younger candidates

Because he’s young that does not make him a good democrat. We must vet every candidate young or old. There are no easy answers and we as democrats have got to stop looking for some miracle pill to fix our country. Hard work and digging into who’s financing them and where they stand. Oh and he’s a little racist male appendage.

[displacedvermoter]

10. Asshole

I keep waiting for him to flip.