A tense exchange during a June 12 meeting of the House Oversight Committee led to U.S. Rep. Jamie Comer telling a fellow lawmaker to “just shut up” when the latter refused to stop asking whether U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem will be subpoenaed over the events of a California news conference.
While the committee questioned three Democratic governors about immigration and sanctuary state policies, Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost interrupted the start of a line of questioning by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to repeatedly ask if Noem would be subpoenaed for the forcible removal and detainment of California Sen. Alex Padilla from a news conference in Los Angeles earlier in the day.
Comer told Frost he was out of order for the comments, but when Frost continued to talk, Comer repeatedly told Frost to “just shut up” before suggesting Frost was being intentionally provocative and “attempting to get on MSNBC.”
Comer was forced to suspend the proceedings moments later as Greene and Frost argued due to a parliamentary motion made by another committee member.
Why are people protesting in Los Angeles?
The exchange comes as tensions in Washington, D.C., between Democratic lawmakers and President Donald Trump continue to rise in the wake of sweeping immigration actions taken by his administration.
Trump recently deployed members of the National Guard and the U.S. Marines to Los Angeles to “restore order” and protect federal buildings after immigration raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement stoked animosity in the city and sparked widespread protests beginning June 6. While most demonstrations have been peaceful, some protests in downtown Los Angeles turned violent, resulting in Mayor Karen Bass instituting a night-time curfew in the city.
Los Angeles protests: City grapples with ‘collective grief and frustration’ amid protests
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have called the deployments “unnecessary and illegal,” and officials from the Los Angeles Police Department have issued statements saying they are able to control the protests without federal assistance.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Jamie Comer has tense exchange with FL lawmaker during House meeting