Defense chief stands firm against Dems who question Marines’ mission in LA

Defense Secretary Pete Hegses sparred with Democrat senators at a hearing Wednesday about the deployment of 700 Marines in Los Angeles during the Trump administration’s deployment of 700 Marines amid ongoing anti-immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) riots.

How did Heggs repeat in his opening statement before the Senate Budget Committee hearing? President Donald Trump He asked the Department of Defense to focus on restoring “combat, lethality, merit, standards, preparation.”

Reed pointed out that the Trump administration has made 4,000 California State Guard members federal and deployed 700 Marines in Los Angeles.

Reed said what’s going on in Los Angeles will add to around 11,000 soldiers, including active soldiers. National security guard, Someone deployed at the southern border to support US customs and border security – someone modified by Heggs. The Secretary of Defense said about 13,000 soldiers were deployed at the southern border and he visited those troops several times.

Johnson says that Hegses probably sends Marines to anti-ice riots, not forceful: “deterrent effect.”

On June 11, 2025, he testified at a Senate Approximate Committee hearing in the Senate Approximate Committee entitled “Review of the President’s 2026 Budget Requests.” (Anna Money Maker/Getty Images)

“People will say that mobilization hurts preparation. When you talk to them, it actually improves their preparation,” Hegses said.

Reid told Hegses:

“Preparation, training and accountability are about lethality,” Heggs said. “The more prepared you are, the more capable you are, the more responsible you are, the higher the standard is.

“The Los Angeles mission is not about lethality, as you know, Sir is not about Sir,” the secretary continued. “It’s about maintaining law and order on behalf of law enforcement representatives who deserve work without being attacked by mobs of people. We are extremely proud to be on the streets where the National Guard and Marines protect ice agents.

Defense officials told Fox News Marines arrive in Los Angeles He is an infantry force and is trained in the use of Seal Beach, including the use of non-lethal weapons and force protocols in domestic environments. On Wednesday morning, they have not yet been tapped to accommodate street demonstrations.

Reid argued that “law and order are civil functions under the Constitution,” but Heggs said there are “many precedents in the United States that support law enforcement officials.”

“What your army is doing now is laying concert wires, protecting the buildings and maintaining vehicles for other services,” Reed said. “I think this is not only illegal, but also a decrease in military preparation and focus.”

Graffiti, where “condemnation Trump” is seen in downtown Los Angeles on June 11, 2025, is seen in downtown Los Angeles as President Donald Trump’s intervention claimed that the riots had escalated. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration to federalize the National Guard to respond to the riots and bash the Marines. On Tuesday night, a federal judge rejected California’s request for an immediate restraining order to block Trump’s use of military personnel and scheduled a court hearing to further consider the legality of Thursday’s issue.

Federal judge refuses to block Trump’s LA National Guard deployment in Newsom’s time frame

In another line of questions at the Senate hearing Wednesday, Heggs said he “want to play politics.”

Senator Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, asked John D. Kane’s co-prime minister, John D. Kane’s co-prime minister, John D. Kane’s co-prime minister, and another witness if the United States was “invaded by a foreign country” or “there is a rebellion somewhere in the United States.”

Kane has postponed it to the Department of Homeland Security, adding to the issue of rebellion, “There are certainly some people who are frustrated” to answer border-related questions in terms of potential aggression.

“It’s very easy to point out that under the previous administration, 21 million illegals have been violated by our country, so this administration was elected to get it,” added Hegses. “And if the ice officers are being attacked with concrete blocks, they should be allowed to do their job.”

From left, the chairman of Prime Minister Dan Kane, Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegses, and pentagonal Secretary Bryn McDonnell, will prepare to testify before the Senate Budget Committee on June 11, 2025. (Alex wroblewski/afp via Getty Images)

Schatz stepped in and told Heguste “I really hope that we don’t create a viral moment.”

The senator said he was “trying to understand the scope of the order,” but that he didn’t specify a location or which Marines or security guards would be mobilized.

“Did you mobilize all your guards everywhere and all your service members everywhere? So you created a framework for that,” Schatz said.

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Hegseth said it had initial orders for California’s 2,000-member national security forces and had a follow-up order for 2,000 members.

“So some of it precedes the problem, so if there’s another place, if there’s another riot. Law enforcement officer They are blackmailed and have the ability to spike the National Guard if necessary. And thankfully, in most of these states, you’ll have governors who support it, support it, and mobilize it. In California, unfortunately, the governor wants to do politics with that. ”

Liz Friden of Fox News contributed to this report.