Pete Hegseth Blows Into Breathalyzer To Unlock Phone
WASHINGTON—Grumbling to himself as he repeatedly dropped the device, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was reportedly blowing into a Breathalyzer Thursday in an attempt to unlock his phone. 'Stupid fucking judge made me put this on my iPhone,' said the head of the nation's largest government agency, snapping his fingers to get the attention of his deputy defense secretary and ask his subordinate to blow into the Breathalyzer for him. 'Hey, could you do me a favor here? It's not working, I think because I used mouthwash before I left the house this morning. Please? It's really important. I got to send some war plans.' At press time, sources confirmed Hegseth was sleeping it off in a SCIF.
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Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
In looming Hegseth hearings, Republicans may air their budget peeves
The first time Pete Hegseth testified before Congress the hardest questions he faced were from Democrats who accused him of sexual and alcohol abuse — both of which he denied as 'anonymous smears.' Now, as America's defense secretary returns to Capitol Hill for a week of testimony, he's likely to get sharper questioning from his own party. After five months atop the Pentagon, Hegseth has dismissed top U.S. officers, slashed the Defense Department's workforce and fired much of his own staff. For a defense secretary confirmed by the narrowest margin possible, the rapid changes have concerned even some Republican members of Congress. 'This is it. This is really the first oversight' of Hegseth's time as secretary, said Mark Montgomery, a retired rear admiral and former Senate Armed Services Committee aide. Alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, Hegseth will testify in multiple hearings focused on defense spending. But in an unusual twist, these hearings will occur without the Pentagon actually releasing its budget request, which is already months late. As in his January hearing, Hegseth will likely face blistering criticism from Democrats aghast at his handling of the Defense Department — from sharing sensitive attack plans on a group chat to tasking the U.S. military with more missions on American soil. But he may also face hard questions from Republicans, many of whom have publicly chafed at the administration's plans for military spending. Hegseth returns to Capitol Hill to defend Trump's defense budget plan In May, the administration asked Congress for a $892.6 billion base defense budget, of which around $850 billion would go to the Pentagon. The number amounts to a cut when accounting for inflation. 'It's going to be hard to say you're actually putting forward a 'Peace through Strength' policy when you're asking for less money than your predecessors projected,' said Elaine McCusker, a top official in the Pentagon's comptroller office during the first Trump administration. Per the scarce budget documents already released by the administration, the Pentagon's procurement account is poised for a major cut — almost $20 billion less than the Biden Pentagon had projected, McCusker said. The drop could harm some of the administration's top priorities, such as the Golden Dome missile defense system and investments in shipbuilding, both of which are also popular in Congress. 'It appears the Trump administration's [fiscal year 2026] defense budget request will double down on the Biden administration's material neglect for the glaring national security threats challenges about which they speak with great alarm,' chair of the Senate appropriations subcommittee on defense Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wrote in a May statement. Both McConnell and Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted against Hegseth's confirmation. Many top Republicans in Congress are calling for the kind of military buildup the administration is asking of its European and Asian allies — closer to 5% of GDP spent on defense. The administration has defended its budget by saying it's not the only military spending planned for this year. Congress is also debating a massive party-line bill that would include $150 billion for defense, spread over four years. This bill includes much of the money slated for top priority weapons purchases, like missile defense and warships. 'This budget provides that level [of spending] while ensuring that only Republican-votes are needed by using reconciliation to secure those increases without Democrats insisting on increasing wasteful government,' Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought posted on X in May. Still, such supplemental defense bills haven't been counted as part of the defense budget in the past and would introduce new uncertainty. Pentagon officials plan the funding for major weapons programs years into the future to make sure funding is predictable. If, say, Golden Dome is only funded in a stand-alone spending bill, then there's no guarantee it will get more money in the future. 'The appropriate defense budget isn't that you give it a huge chunk of change but that you grow it year over year,' Montgomery said. Privately, some Republicans are also concerned about the increased use of U.S. forces on American soil to support immigration enforcement. Some 9,000 active-duty troops have either been deployed to the southern border or are approved to do so. Such missions are under even higher scrutiny after the protests in Los Angeles against the Trump administration's recent deportations in the city. Over the weekend, Trump called up 2,000 National Guard troops to protect officials carrying out the mission. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has decried the choice and said he plans to sue for their removal. Meanwhile, U.S. Northern Command posted on X Sunday that parts of an infantry brigade team from the California National Guard have already begun deploying to Los Angeles. Hegseth, who has said active duty Marines may follow, shared the post from his personal account.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump huddles with military brass at Camp David amid violent immigration protests in Los Angeles
President Donald Trump huddled with military leaders and top Cabinet officials at Camp David on Sunday as the administration reviews all options for tamping down anti-immigration enforcement riots in Los Angeles. "We're going up to Camp David; we have meetings with various people about very major subjects," Trump told reporters Sunday evening before boarding Air Force One. "We'll be meeting with a lot of people, including generals, as you know, and admirals." A White House official described the meeting as the first of "what will become a regular off-campus retreat of principals attended by the President and Vice President." Trump's 21St Week Back In Office Set To Include China Trade Talks, La Riot Control, Sweeping Travel Ban "They will meet on a number of issues and topics." Read On The Fox News App In addition to Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined in on the talks. The meeting came as Trump and Hegseth consider whether to send in U.S. Marines to assist the National Guard in shutting down riots in Los Angeles. Activists are protesting the administration's Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids. Trump has already deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to the city in an unusual arrangement that did not include sign-off from California's Gov. Gavin Newsom. He left open the option to invoke the Insurrection Act and even send in the Marines. The military is generally barred from carrying out domestic law enforcement duties, but the Insurrection Act allows the president to deploy the military to suppress rebellions. Johnson Says Hegseth Possibly Sending Marines To Anti-ice Riots Not Heavy-handed: 'Deterring Effect' Trump said he had directed his Cabinet officials "to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots." Camp David has been the executive retreat in Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. However, the riots are not the only thing top of mind for White House crunch talks: trade negotiations with China kicked off on Monday and the president is feuding with billionaire and former top advisor Elon Musk. The Senate is weighing Trump's signature spending legislation, the Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the White House is negotiating with Iran over its nuclear ambitions. After the weekend retreat, the president will speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid ongoing hostage and ceasefire talks with article source: Trump huddles with military brass at Camp David amid violent immigration protests in Los Angeles
Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
'State of rebellion': Expert weighs in on Newsom challenge to Trump deploying National Guard
President Donald Trump's decision to activate the National Guard to quell protests and riots in California over the weekend was met with objections from the state's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called the move illegal and vowed to sue the president over it. Trump said in a proclamation that mobilizing the National Guard troops was necessary to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, who he said were being hindered from arresting illegal immigrants. Attorney Brad Moss, who specializes in national security, told Fox News Digital the law Trump relied on to deploy the National Guard, found under Title 10, is designed to address rebellions. "The President invoked 10 U.S.C. 12406, which affords him the authority to federalize the National Guard in response to a state of rebellion within the United States," Moss said. The National Guard is a military force based in each state and under the dual control of governors and presidents. Governors typically have authority over their respective National Guard units, but presidents can call them into federal service in certain situations. Moss noted that Trump left his National Guard proclamation "sufficiently vague and nondescript," including by not mentioning California or Los Angeles County in it. Trump said he was moving 2,000 National Guard soldiers under his purview and delegating the remaining logistics to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. From there, U.S. Northern Command issued a statement saying 300 soldiers from the California Army National Guard were deployed to parts of Los Angeles County "to support the protection of federal personnel and federal property." While presidents have looked to the National Guard as a reinforcement to protect federal personnel and property before, Trump's move was unusual because it lacked the support of the governor. Moss said presidents can "technically" tap the National Guard without the governor's consent but that there are limitations on what the National Guard can be used for. "It is unclear how the court would resolve legal challenges here," he said. All Democratic governors opposed Trump's move, calling it an "alarming abuse of power" in a joint statement. Newsom took matters a step further, blaming Trump for exacerbating riots. The Democratic governor said local and state police had conditions under control but that they worsened because Trump called in the military. "He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard. The order he signed doesn't just apply to CA. It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing," Newsom wrote on social media. Over the weekend, Los Angeles police reported incidents of unlawful assembly outside an immigrant detention center and incidents of protesters throwing concrete bottles and other objects. Later, rioters set fire to and vandalized several self-driving cars and video showed shops being looted.
