Hegeth says National Guard, Marines mobilized to L.A. because "we believe ICE agents should be allowed to be safe in doing their operations"
Washington — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday defended the administration's mobilization of the National Guard and members of the Marine Corps to Los Angeles amid ongoing immigration protests.
"We believe ICE agents should be allowed to be safe in doing their operations and we have deployed National Guard and the Marines to protect them in the execution of their duties because we ought be able to enforce immigration law in this country," Hegseth said Tuesday, testifying before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
President Trump called for the National Guard to enforce order in the L.A. area over the weekend amid protests over activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, prompting a clash with California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom warned that the move would inflame the situation, while urging that there is no shortage of law enforcement. And California sued the Trump administration Monday, after arguing that the move to call the National Guard without the state's permission was illegal.
Later Monday, the military said it was mobilizing an additional 2,000 members of the National Guard, while activating 700 members of the Marine Corps to support the National Guard. Members of the Marine Corps could start arriving in the Los Angeles area as soon as Tuesday, a defense official told CBS News. Newsom's office called the escalation "completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented."
Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump took aim at Newsom in recent days, sharply criticizing his handling of the protests, while suggesting that his "border czar" Tom Homan could arrest the California governor.
"I would do it if I were Tom," Mr. Trump said. "Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing."
Homan told CBS News late Monday that "there's no intention to arrest" Newsom. But he defended calling in the National Guard, calling it "absolutely" necessary.
The developments come as Hegseth is testifying Tuesday before the appropriations panel on the administration's proposed budget. Asked about the cost of mobilizing the National Guard and Marine Corps to California and the impact on the budget, Hegseth said the Defense Department has the capability to "cover down on contingencies," especially "as important as maintaining law and order in a major American city."
The defense secretary's testimony comes months after he endured a bruising confirmation process in the Senate. Hegseth was among the most embattled of Mr. Trump's nominees for top posts in his administration, but the 45-year-old Army veteran and former Fox News host was ultimately confirmed by the Senate in a narrow vote. In recent weeks, he's faced renewed scrutiny over the use of the encrypted messaging app Signal.
contributed to this report.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
16 minutes ago
- New York Post
There's nothing ‘spontaneous' about radical ICE protests — here are the groups behind them
The same media who told you in 2020 that the violent Black Lives Matter riots were 'fiery, but mostly peaceful' are at it again, pretending that your eyes are lying to you: No, they claim, there are no rampaging throngs or marauders waving foreign flags and attacking the forces of order. And the peaceful protests in Los Angeles are spontaneous. Nobody is organizing them. Advertisement Or so pretends the media. 'The Trump administration's immigration raids in the California city prompted mostly peaceful protests,' blared the leftwing British paper The Guardian. Of course, these supposedly perfectly serene public gatherings then 'escalated when the president sent in the National Guard — and then the US Marines,' added the Guardian. So, no, the scenes of mayhem and invasion that played on TV for days before the first National Guard unit arrived in the City of Angels didn't prompt Trump to act — don't believe your lying eyes. Advertisement It's like Guardian writer Chris Michael has no idea of the mockery that CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez has succumbed to since August 2020, when he went on air in front of a building engulfed in flames and complete chaos behind him, and a chyron with the 'mostly peaceful' claim. One other key thing that the left-wing media is not telling you is who is organizing the disorder, and who is funding it. Ignoring this aspect leads the public to believe two things that aren't true: that the violence is spontaneous, and that it reflects true national discontent with the deportation raids. Advertisement In fact, the opposite is true. A Polling Insights newsletter that the pollster Scott Rasmussen sends out reports that, 'In the current stand-off, 57% approve of efforts by immigration officials to find and arrest illegal immigrants in Los Angeles. Fifty-two percent approve of President Trump's decision to send in the National Guard.' Other opinon surveys support this trend. So, if the American people largely support the deportation raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who is organizing the riots against them? Advertisement We can see, from the placards and signs captured in photographs, that one key group organizing the protests comes from what one can call the list of usual suspects: the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). The PSL, a communist party, has been involved with BLM and pro-Hamas terrorism violence. The PSL has organizational ties with the ANSWER Coalition, which the Network Contagion Research Institute says has ties with the Chinese Communist Party. ANSWER was involved with organizing a rally in sympathy with the Los Angeles rioters on June 10 in Columbus, Ohio. The PSL is an old-style communist party that will seize on any crises to try to dismantle the United States. It says that 'the United States today is a dictatorship of the capitalist class. This reality will not change without a socialist revolution.' It is funded indirectly by donations from Neville Roy Singham, an American millionaire with close ties to the CCP who lives in Shanghai. Advertisement Elias Rodriguez, the terrorist who shot and killed the couple at the Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, in late May, was a member of both the PSL and ANSWER. Another group involved in organizing the LA riots is the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a radical leftist American union with extensive overseas ties. It is a regular attendee at the conferences and workshops held by the Foro de Sao Paulo, a hemispheric network of Marxist parties founded by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Brazilian President Inazio Lula da Silva. Advertisement The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights LA (CHIRLA), also an organizer, received $33 million in government grants in FY2023. Then there are the 'charities' helping the rioters, such as Mutual Aid Los Angeles Network, Operation Healthy Hearts, LA Poverty Department, and Mutual Aid/Social Therapy. These riots are sure to expand in the days to come, which means that it is a good thing that some congressmen are looking to investigate who these groups are, and why they are seeking to destabilize our streets. Mike Gonzalez is a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation and co-author of 'NextGen Marxism: What It Is and How to Combat It.'
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
State leaders warn of crackdown if ‘No Kings' protests take a turn toward violence
Porchse Miller, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Grassroots Atlanta takes part in a peaceful immigration protest against LA ICE raids in Atlanta on Monday. State leaders are warning protesters to avoid violence during planned weekend protests. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder Georgia leaders say they are prepared to respond if weekend protests turn violent. 'My office remains in close contact with state and local law enforcement and stands ready to take whatever appropriate action is needed to safeguard our communities from crime and violence while also respecting the constitutional right to peaceful assembly,' Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement on social media. 'My support for public safety officers and the rule of law is unwavering, and any violence against those who protect and serve will be met with quick and heavy accountability.' Organizers around the country are planning demonstrations Saturday against the Trump administration as part of the 'No Kings' events. More than two dozen protests are planned in Georgia, from Dalton to Valdosta, according to organizers. Tensions are high across the country as photos and footage from Los Angeles depict smoldering vehicles and clashes between protesters and police – fallout from protests over tactics used in raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The situation in California intensified after President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass, who said local law enforcement was sufficient to keep the peace. The last time a president called up the National Guard to a state without the approval of its governor was in 1965 when President Lyndon Johnson deployed troops to protect civil rights activists against the wishes of segregationist Alabama Gov. George Wallace. The second Trump presidency has already seen numerous protests in Georgia over immigration, federal spending cuts and other actions by the administration. One of them turned violent Tuesday night when immigration protesters allegedly threw fireworks and rocks at police officers and their cars. No officers were seriously hurt, but at least six people were arrested, according to multiple news outlets. Kemp previously called in the National Guard over heated protests, including in 2020 when protests over the deaths of George Floyd and other Black Americans turned violent and in 2023 after protests over the Atlanta police public safety training facility known as 'Cop City' led to burning cop cars. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who is running for governor in 2026, issued a stern warning via a press release Wednesday: 'All Americans have the right to peacefully protest. No American has the right to destroy property, loot businesses, or attack law enforcement officers. It's very simple. Protesters use words. Rioters use violence. There is no gray area. In Georgia, if you engage in violence for the purpose of changing public policy, you can be charged with Domestic Terrorism. The penalty for Domestic Terrorism is 5-35 years in jail.' Many protesters say it's the tactics used by the Trump administration and ICE that should be illegal. 'I grew up in a sundown town up north, so them being able to come in and violate that sanctity of homes, schools, businesses, it triggers something in me, and it makes me so uncomfortable with what's going on,' Melissa Steach, a member of the Union of Southern Service Workers who works at Waffle House, said at a peaceful protest outside ICE headquarters Monday. 'It needs to stop,' she added. 'We're going to keep protesting until the raids stop. These people do so much for us, and I'm gonna keep standing with our brothers and sisters.' Georgia Recorder reporter Maya Homan contributed to this report.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
White House tries to clarify Trump's threat to use 'heavy force' on 'any' military parade protesters
The White House on Wednesday attempted to clarify President Donald Trump's threat the day before to use "heavy force" against "any" protesters at the military parade this weekend in Washington celebrating the Army's 250th anniversary. "The president supports peaceful protests," press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a White House briefing after Trump on Tuesday did not distinguish between peaceful and violent protesters. "He supports the First Amendment. He supports the right of Americans to make their voices heard," she added, after being asked what Trump would allow at the parade given his military response to the protests against his immigration policies in Los Angeles. "He does not support violence of any kind. He does not support assaulting law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their job." "It's very clear for the president what he supports and what he does not," she said. "Unfortunately for Democrats, that line is not been made clear, and they've allowed this unrest in this violence to continue, and the president has had to step in." MORE: Trump warns 'any' protesters at military parade will be 'met with heavy force' The president's comments on Tuesday said protesters would be "met with heavy force" if they arrived in Washington for the parade, which occurs days after he sent the National Guard and the Marines to Los Angeles to quell protests against operations conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "These are people who hate our country," he said in the Oval Office. "We're going to celebrate big on Saturday," Trump added. "If any protesters want to come out, they will be met with very big force." MORE: Nearly 7,000 troops, tanks and parachute jumps: Army confirms military parade coinciding with Trump's birthday U.S. Secret Service and local D.C. officials have said they only expect several small protests at Saturday's parade, and Trump himself on Tuesday night appeared to soften his earlier Oval Office comments somewhat, saying, "As long as we have the military there, the protests won't mean anything." "The military will be very heavy force -- very proud to tell you that," he told reporters who had asked him what he meant. "They might as well turn around. They're wasting their time." MORE: Army to go 'bigger' to mark its 250th. Could it be the military parade Trump wants? Tall fencing has been set up and other security measures have been taken around Washington in the lead-up to the parade -- measures the White House said are purely "proactive" and not in reaction to the protests in Los Angeles. "These are proactive security measures to protect those marching in the parade, many of whom will be veterans, and our brave men and women in uniform and Gold Star families," Leavitt said. "And of course, it's to protect the spectators who will be enjoying this incredibly patriotic show on Saturday." Leavitt's comments came as the first soldiers arrive in the district for the parade. MORE: Video Hegseth goes on the defensive over LA military deployment Approximately 6,700 soldiers will participate, and there will be eight marching bands, 24 horses, two mules and a dog. Dozens of tanks, military vehicles, howitzers and various aircraft, including those used in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, will be on display, and the Army on Wednesday added rocket launchers and precision-guided missiles to the festivities. The White House also made a last-minute request for the Air Force's Thunderbirds to fly over the parade, according to a U.S. official. The event has grown considerably in size in recent months, with a parade added after Trump's inauguration. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. ABC News' Anne Flaherty contributed to this report. White House tries to clarify Trump's threat to use 'heavy force' on 'any' military parade protesters originally appeared on
