The Latest: Hegseth suggests National Guard use for homeland defense will expand under Trump

Toronto Star

2 days ago

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is fielding sharp questions from members of Congress about his tumultuous start as Pentagon chief, including his sharing of sensitive military details over a Signal chat, in three separate Capitol Hill hearings beginning Tuesday.
During Tuesday's hearing, Hegseth suggested the use of the National Guard for homeland defense will expand under President Donald Trump.
Here's the latest:
Los Angeles deployment to cost at least $134 million and last 60 days, Pentagon says
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'We stated very publicly that it's 60 days because we want to ensure that those rioters, looters and thugs on the other side assaulting our police officers know that we're not going anywhere,' Hegseth told members of the House appropriations defense subcommittee.
The current cost estimate for the deployment is $134 million, which is largely just the cost of travel, housing and food,' said Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, special assistant to the secretary of defense who's currently performing the duties of the Pentagon's top financial officer.
Hegseth: Funding for Ukraine military aid will be reduced in upcoming defense budget
That could mean Kyiv will receive fewer critical air defense systems in the future that have been key to countering a continuous onslaught of Russian missiles.
'It is a reduction in this budget,' Hegseth told lawmakers. 'This administration takes a very different view of that conflict. We believe that a negotiated peaceful settlement is in the best interest of both parties and our nation's interests, especially with all the competing interests around the globe.'
The U.S. to date has provided Ukraine more than $66 billion in aid since Russia invaded in February 2022.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson defended Trump's handling of protests in Los Angeles
And he echoed the president's attacks on Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
'That's not my lane,' Johnson said in response to a question about whether Newsom should face legal consequences such as arrest.
Johnson, speaking at a news conference at the RNC on Tuesday, continued that Newsom should be 'tarred and feathered'— eliciting chuckles from members of House Republican leadership at the news conference — for 'standing in the way of the administration and the carrying out of federal law.'
Thune says 'federal response' necessary to protests in Los Angeles
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said Tuesday there were 'clear failures on the part of state and local officials' in response to protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles and a 'federal response' was necessary.
President Trump has sent thousands of National Guard troops and 700 active duty Marines to quell the protests despite the objections of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and local leaders.
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'I don't know exactly the authorities that they are using,' Thune said, referring to the Marine deployment. 'But obviously, there was a security situation out there that needed to be addressed. And I think ultimately the president's objective is to keep people safe.'
Hegseth suggests National Guard use for homeland defense will expand under Trump
'I think we're entering another phase, especially under President Trump with his focus on the homeland, where the National Guard and reserves become a critical component of how we secure that homeland,' Hegseth told lawmakers.
Hegseth earlier refused to answer a lawmaker's questions on how much a deployment of active duty U.S. Marines to Los Angeles will cost.
Greta Thunberg isn't fazed by Donald Trump
After the activist joined a flotilla seeking to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and bring humanitarian aid to Palestinians, the U.S. president described Thunberg as a ″young, angry person.″ He said she should go to ″anger management class.'
Thunberg was detained then deported by Israel on Tuesday and sent to Paris.
Asked upon arrival about Trump's comments, she replied in a matter-of-fact tone: 'I think the world needs a lot more young angry women to be honest. Especially with everything going on right now.'
Head of Marine Corps says battalion deployed to LA is there, ready to respond but hasn't engaged
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Gen. Eric Smith testified at a budget hearing before senators that those Marines are trained for crowd control and they would have shields and batons as their equipment. He said they have no arrest authority and are only there to protect federal property and federal personnel.
When asked by Sen. Richard Blumental, a Connecticut Democrat, about the danger Marines would use lethal force that could result in injuries and deaths, Smith said he had faith in them.
'I am not concerned. I have great faith in my Marines and their junior leaders and their more senior leaders to execute the lawful tasks that they are given.'
Ukraine's surprise drone attack on Russia has the US rethinking its own defenses, Hegseth says
The attack in early June that destroyed a large number of Russian bomber aircraft caught the U.S. off guard and represented significant advances in drone warfare, Hegseth told lawmakers Tuesday.
The attack has the Pentagon rethinking drone defenses 'so we are not vulnerable to a threat and an attack like that,' Hegseth told the House appropriations subcommittee on defense.
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Hegseth said the Pentagon 'is learning everyday from Ukraine,' and focused on how to better defend its own military airfields.
Hegseth refuses to provide lawmakers details on costs of sending Marines to Los Angeles
In a back an forth with the defense appropriations subcommittee's top Democrat, Hegseth refused to answer basic questions on the cost of deploying Marines to Los Angeles, instead falling back on political talking points.
In a series of questions on the news that Marines would be sent to Los Angeles, House Appropriations defense subcommittee ranking member Rep. Betty McCollum told Hegseth 'this is a deeply unfair position to put our Marines in,' she said. 'There's no need for the Marines to be deployed.'
McCollum asked what the cost of the deployment would be. Hegseth deflected on the costs, attacked the decisions of the previous Biden administration instead and talked about illegal immigration.
'Could the Secretary please address the budget' McCollum asked him.
Hegseth again refused to acknowledge McCollum's question and attacked the politics of the past administration again. McCollum took back her time and Hegseth was instructed by the committee chairman to provide the costs in writing instead.
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California Democrats accuses Trump of inciting unrest
Democratic members of California's congressional delegation are accusing the president of creating a 'manufactured crisis' in Los Angeles with his orders to send in thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines.
'It's a deliberate attempt by Trump to incite unrest, test the limits of executive power and distract from the lawlessness of his administration,' said Rep. Jimmy Gomez, who organized a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday morning.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta said Trump's decision to send in the military was designed to 'give him the image and give him the fight and give him the pictures that he wants.'
Rep. Nancy Pelosi contrasted Trump's actions now with his handling of the Jan. 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol when law enforcement officers were being beaten.
'We begged the president of the United States to send in the National Guard. He would not do it,' Pelosi said.
Hegseth skirts acknowledging key controversies in opening remarks
Based on his opening remarks in his first appearance before lawmakers since taking office, there's been nothing but smooth sailing in the defense chief's office.
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Hegseth completed his opening statement with no mention of his controversial use of Signal, of the lack of defense budget details to guide Congress, or his controversial firings of his own staff or military leaders.
Hegseth also made no mention of a decision to deploy Marines into Los Angeles to respond to immigration raid protests. Instead, he clung closely to the talking points he's used since taking office, such as emphasizing that 'DEI is dead,' and that he's focused on a return to 'lethality.'
Pentagon mired in 'controversy and chaos,' lawmaker says in Hegseth hearing
Trump's defense chief faced a litany of questions on what some lawmakers called 'rash' or 'reckless' decisions or actions dating back to his first day in office, as Tuesday's hearing before the House Appropriations defense subcommittee began.
In opening statements, lawmakers asked about Hegseth's decisions to fire top military leaders, his use of Signal and other controversies, including his firing of several staff members in his inner circle.
'The Department of Defense is mired in controversy and chaos,' said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking member of the full committee.
Citing trade wars, the World Bank sharply downgrades forecast for global economic growth
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President Trump's trade wars are expected to slash economic growth this year in the United States and around the world, the World Bank forecast Tuesday.
Citing 'a substantial rise in trade barriers'' but without mentioning Trump by name, the 189-country lender predicted that the U.S. economy — the world's largest — would grow half as fast (1.4%) this year as it did in 2024 (2.8%). That marked a downgrade from the 2.3% U.S. growth it had forecast back for 2025 back in January.
The bank also lopped 0.4 percentage points off its forecast for global growth this year. It now expects the world economy to expand just 2.3% in 2025, down from 2.8% in 2024.
▶ Read more about the World Bank's forecast
Trump links protests in Los Angeles to home rebuilding after wildfires
Trump said his decision to 'SEND IN THE TROOPS' to Los Angeles spared the city from burning to the ground like thousands of homes after wildfires this year.
He wrote on his social media site that people want to rebuild, and that the federal permitting process is 'virtually complete on these houses.'
Trump claimed 'the easy and simple City and State Permits are disastrously bungled up and WAY BEHIND SCHEDULE!' and blamed California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
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'People want to rebuild their houses. Call your incompetent Governor and Mayor, the Federal permitting is DONE!!!' he wrote.
Trump's Tuesday schedule, according to the White House
12:25 p.m. — Trump will travel to Fort Bragg, North Carolina
2:40 p.m. — Once he arrives, Trump will observe a military demonstration
4:00 p.m. — Trump will deliver remarks to service members, veterans and their families
6:00 p.m. — Trump will travel back to the White House
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to face Congress for first time since Signal leaks
He's expected to field sharp questions from members of Congress about his tumultuous start as Pentagon chief, including his sharing of sensitive military details over a Signal chat, in three separate Capitol Hill hearings beginning Tuesday.
Lawmakers also have made it clear they're unhappy that Hegseth hasn't provided details on the administration's first proposed defense budget, which Trump has said would total $1 trillion, a significant increase over the current spending level of more than $800 billion.
It will be lawmakers' first chance to ask Hegseth about a myriad of other controversial spending by the Pentagon, including plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on security upgrades to turn a Qatari jet into Air Force One and to pour as much as $45 million into a parade recently added to the Army's 250th birthday bash, which happens to coincide with Trump's birthday on Saturday.
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▶ Read more about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee
Kennedy on Monday removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the CDC on how to use vaccines and pledged to replace them with his own picks.
Major physicians and public health groups criticized the move to oust all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Kennedy, who was one of the nation's leading anti-vaccine activists before becoming the nation's top health official, has not said who he would appoint to the panel, but said it would convene in just two weeks in Atlanta.
Although it's typically not viewed as a partisan board, the entire current roster of committee members were Biden appointees.
▶ Read more about Kennedy's latest move
Trump pushes ahead with his maximalist immigration campaign in face of LA protests
Trump made no secret of his willingness to take a maximalist approach to enforcing immigration laws and keeping order as he campaigned to return to the White House. The fulfillment of that pledge is now on full display in Los Angeles.
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By overriding California's Gov. Gavin Newsom, Trump is already going beyond what he did to respond to Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, when he warned he could send troops to contain demonstrations that turned violent if governors in the states did not act to do so themselves. Trump said in September of that year that he 'can't call in the National Guard unless we're requested by a governor' and that 'we have to go by the laws.'
But now, he's moving swiftly to test the bounds of his executive authority in order to deliver on his promise of mass deportations. What remains to be seen is whether Americans will stand by him once it's operationalized nationwide. For now, Trump is betting that they will.
▶ Read more about Trump's efforts to fulfill his immigration promises
Trump heads to Fort Bragg while facing criticism for deploying military at Los Angeles protests
Trump plans to speak at Fort Bragg on Tuesday to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army as he deploys the military in an attempt to quiet immigration protests in Los Angeles.
Fort Bragg, located near Fayetteville, North Carolina, serves as headquarters for U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Highly trained units like the Green Berets and the Rangers are based there.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will also be at Tuesday's event, along with service members, veterans and their families.
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Trump has promoted the Army's anniversary as a reason to hold a military parade in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, which is also his 79th birthday.
Trump, who sees the military as a critical tool for domestic goals, has used the recent protests in Los Angeles as an opportunity to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines to quell disturbances that began as protests over immigration raids.
▶ Read more about Trump's Fort Bragg trip