Pete Hegseth Snaps At Pete Aguilar When Pressed On National Guard Deployment To Los Angeles

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At today's House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, gentlemen. Mr. Aguilar. Thank you, Chairman General Calvert. Thanks to

00:06the witnesses for being here. That's okay, private. Go ahead. The clock's still

00:14moving. Mr. Secretary, I want to express my severe concern with the

00:20deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles without consultation of the

00:23State of California. There have been photographs that have shown these

00:26troops sleeping on the floor and have not been provided fuel, food, or water by DOD.

00:31How long will this deployment last and why were we unprepared to provide them

00:35basic necessities such as food and water? The commanders and troops on the

00:42field are very well prepared, sir. They responded incredibly rapidly to a

00:47deteriorating situation with equipment and capabilities. We have made sure from the

00:52top-down as a Secretary of Defense who's been in a unit holding riot shields

00:57outside the White House during the chaos of the summer of 2020. I know what it's

01:02like to be immediately deployed into a situation like that. There are moments

01:06where you make do as best you can temporarily, but we are ensuring they're

01:10housed, fed, water capabilities in real time from my office because I care that

01:16much about the California Guard and the Marines and the men and women who are

01:20supporting our ICE agents on the ground. It's true every day and that's a

01:24disingenuous attack that misrepresents how much we care about our troops and

01:28what they're doing to defend ICE agents. I'm not going to take the fact that we

01:31don't care about the troops. Nobody cares more about the troops at the top than this

01:34secretary and the chairman and our department. How long will the deployment last?

01:37We stated very publicly that it's 60 days because we want to ensure that those rioters,

01:44looters, and thugs on the other side assaulting our police officers know that we're not going anywhere.

01:49We're here to maintain the peace on behalf of law enforcement officers in Los Angeles,

01:53which Gavin Newsom won't do. What is the estimated cost of the deployment for the

01:58Guard and the Marines to LA and where's this funding coming from? Will it be coming

02:02from quality of life programs that affect our service members or families if you

02:06want to wait till I finish? Before I hand it to Bryn, the insinuation that we're

02:13pulling money from housing and barracks in order to fund this is disingenuous and incorrect.

02:17I'm just asking. Bryn can give you the numbers, absolutely.

02:19So the current estimated cost is $134 million, which is largely just TDY cost, travel, housing,

02:26food, etc. Where's it coming from? That's the cost, but where's it coming from?

02:33Out of their O&M accounts. With the most recent deployment of the Marines,

02:38Mr. Secretary, what's the justification for using the military for civilian law enforcement purposes

02:43in LA? Why are you sending war fighters to cities to interact with civilians?

02:48Every American citizen deserves to be live in a community that's safe and ICE agents need to be able to do their job.

02:57They're being attacked for doing their job, which is deporting illegal criminals.

03:01That should happen in any city, Minneapolis or Los Angeles. And if they're attacked, that's lawless and

03:07President Trump believes in law and order. So he has every authority and he has done mobilizing National Guard

03:13or active duty troops under U.S. Code to protect federal agents in their job, which is exactly what we're doing.

03:20We're proud to do it. We're proud to do it.

03:22Mr. Secretary, 10 U.S.C. of the U.S. Code 12406, as a legal basis that the President used, cites three examples

03:30and circumstances for the Guard. Invasion by a foreign nation, a rebellion or dangerous rebellion

03:36against the authority of the government of the United States, or the President is unable for,

03:39with regular forces, to execute the laws of the United States. Which authority is triggered here to justify the use?

03:47I don't know. You just read it yourself and people can listen themselves, but it sounds like all three to me.

03:52If you've got millions of illegals and you don't know where they're coming from, they're waving flags from foreign countries

03:58and assaulting police officers and law enforcement officers, that's a problem.

04:02You said the President is unable to execute the laws of the United States?

04:04No, the Governor of California is unable to execute the laws of the United States.

04:07The Code says the President, you said all three apply.

04:08The Governor of California has failed to protect his people along with the Mayor of Los Angeles,

04:12and so President Trump has said he will protect our agents and our Guard and Marines are proud to do it.

04:17The law also says, Mr. Secretary, that the orders for these purposes shall be issued through Governors of the States.

04:25You and I both know that President Trump has all the authorities necessary and thankfully he's willing to do it

04:30on behalf of the citizens of Los Angeles, on behalf of our ICE agents, and on behalf of our country.

04:35We've also pulled a billion dollars for the border as well, so this just goes into the same fund, $134 million.

04:44Congressman, what's the...

04:45$134 million. I was asking Ms. McDonald.

04:47Okay.

04:48$134 million goes on top of the billion that's been pulled for the border.

04:52So the funding that was pulled for this year was largely an FSRM, and in this budget we're actually looking to

04:57plus that funding back up to backfill that for our troops and for their families.

05:03Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

05:06Thank you, gentlemen.

05:08Mr. Valadeo.

05:11Thank you, Chairman.

05:15Thank you, Secretary.

05:16Thank you, General.

05:17Thank you, Ms. McDonald, for being here.

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