Senate Scrutiny of Military Deployment

In a heated session on Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee grilled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the controversial decision to deploy National Guard troops and active-duty Marines in Los Angeles amid ongoing protests.

Backing Trump's Military Moves

Hegseth, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, defended the deployment, insisting that every action was both 'constitutional' and 'lawful.' However, his inability to cite the specific legal authority backing the deployment raised eyebrows among lawmakers.

Murray Calls Out Unprecedented Threats

Senator Patty Murray, representing Washington, did not hold back during the hearing. "This kind of rhetoric from a sitting President should send chills down our spines," she asserted. "Threatening to unleash our own troops on our citizens at such scale is not only unprecedented but also utterly unconstitutional and downright un-American."

Chiefs Dance Around 'Rebellion' Remarks

Joining Hegseth was Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was evasive when pressed about whether he perceived a 'rebellion' in Los Angeles—often the justification for invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows military involvement in law enforcement.

Rejecting the Administration's 'Invasion' Narrative

Caine further countered the Trump administration's claims of an 'invasion' of migrants at the border, clarifying, "I do not see any foreign, state-sponsored invasion happening, though I acknowledge there have been some border issues."