George Whitesides Confronts Pete Hegseth Over Troops In LA Sleeping On 'Concrete Floors Of Federal Buildings'

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At a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. George Whitesides (D-CA) questioned Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth.

Transcript

00:00The gentleman from California, Mr. Whitesides.

00:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Secretary.

00:07Thank you for your service to the country.

00:10I'm a new member of Congress from the north side of Los Angeles,

00:13and I'm proud to represent a region with both a large veteran community

00:16and a world-class aerospace production base.

00:19It was our area that broke the speed of sound for the first time,

00:23that assembled the space shuttles,

00:25and that now builds many of the most advanced aircraft

00:28that this nation depends on for its national security.

00:31I want to start by communicating my deep concern

00:33for the deployment of military troops to the streets of Los Angeles County.

00:37Over the past few days, I've received briefings from military leadership,

00:41including the Marine Corps and the National Guard,

00:43and one thing is eminently clear.

00:46So far, this operation has been poorly planned and poorly executed

00:50and is not an example of the operational and logistical excellence

00:55that the Department of Defense is famous for.

00:57Our service members have been sleeping on the concrete floors of federal buildings

01:03and even outside on roads.

01:05No contract has been made to feed them or adequately house them.

01:10NORTHCOM was not given adequate time or resources

01:12to prepare to absorb these guard units.

01:15The lines of command are muddy at best.

01:18I've personally heard that NORTHCOM is the lead agency,

01:22that DHS is the lead agency,

01:25that the FBI is the lead agency,

01:27or that your office, Mr. Secretary, is the lead agency.

01:31It's unclear whether the Marines who have been deployed

01:34have even completed their full training

01:36for this civilian-focused, non-lethal mission.

01:38The briefings that we have received to date indicate

01:42that only a fraction of the assigned forces

01:44are actually being utilized on a day-to-day basis.

01:48On top of this, yesterday we heard in your testimony, Mr. Secretary,

01:52that the Department may start sending troops to other cities and states.

01:56And early today, you refused to say

01:58whether you would follow the decision of the Supreme Court

02:00on the legality of the deployments of the National Guard and the Marines.

02:04We're on an extraordinarily dangerous path.

02:09The nation's founding fathers were rightfully deeply skeptical

02:13of domestic deployment of federal troops.

02:16That skepticism stretches all the way back to the Boston Massacre

02:20and is a skepticism based on blood.

02:24Going forward, I would urge you to avoid politics

02:28and to actually pay attention to what law enforcement officers are saying on the ground.

02:32Now, we've talked a lot today about leadership and accountability.

02:37I've been lucky to work for several inspiring leaders.

02:40When I was NASA chief of staff, my boss was Administrator Charlie Bolden,

02:43who you may know, served as a decorated Marine general

02:46as well as a space shuttle commander.

02:48This was a Marine who flew more than 100 combat missions

02:51in North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

02:54He commanded the mission which deployed the Hubble Space Telescope,

02:57which at the time was the largest object ever deployed by the shuttle.

03:00He's a serious man and an American hero.

03:03I haven't been a member of the Armed Services Committee for very long,

03:06just over five months,

03:07but in that time I've had the privilege to meet and talk

03:10with the senior-most members of our military.

03:12I've met men and women who've served for decades in our armed services,

03:16who've served for years in combat zones.

03:18What have I learned from these American heroes?

03:22Leaders don't just speak.

03:24They listen.

03:25They are strong, but they show humility.

03:28They are curious, and they learn from all members of their team,

03:33even people that they disagree with.

03:35You and your team have made multiple serious errors,

03:38putting our pilots and troops at risk by disclosing operational details

03:41and unclassified communication channels,

03:43firing general officers with unique experience and leadership skills,

03:47hiring senior team members who seem to be unable to work together well

03:51and who seem unable to hold confidential information private.

03:54We need the Department of Defense to be run well

03:57so that our troops are led well and our nation is protected.

04:02In order for that to happen, Mr. Secretary,

04:04I suspect you will need to listen more and talk less.

04:08You will need to be more curious and capable of learning from different voices.

04:12I know that that is not the style of this administration,

04:17but you now have the lives of millions of service members

04:20and hundreds of millions of Americans

04:21depending on your capacity to learn and change.

04:25I sincerely hope you can do it, and I yield back my time.

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