Amna Nawaz
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WATCH: Reed disputes Hegseth's view of Los Angeles deployment as maintaining law and order
Posted
June 11, 2025
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June 11, 2025
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4:33Now PlayingAfter the deployment of military forces to respond to anti-immigration protests in Los Angeles, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., asked Secretary Pete Hegseth whether he’s prepared to authorize the Department of Homeland Security to use drones and elite forces to arrest and detain American citizens.
“Every authorization we've provided the National Guard and the Marines in Los Angeles is under the authority of the President of the United States is lawful and constitutional,” Hegseth said during a Senate subcommittee hearing Wednesday, adding that they’re assisting in defending law enforcement officers.
“So the answer is yes,” Reed said multiple times while Hegseth continued talking.
During Hegseth's testimony on the department's budget plan, Reed noted the multiple requests for increased military personnel and equipment.
Later, Hegseth said the deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles is “about maintaining law and order on behalf of law enforcement agents who deserve to do their job without being attacked by mobs of people.”
Reed said law and order is a civil function under the U.S. Constitution. “Civil enforcement, law enforcement authorities, not the U.S. military," he said.
“What your military is doing right now is laying concertina wire, guarding buildings, maintaining vehicles for other services,” he added. “This is not only illegal, but also a diminution of the readiness and the focus of the military.”
Hegseth told lawmakers Tuesday in a House subcommittee hearing that the some 4,000 National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines activated by the president are expected to stay in Los Angeles for 60 days.
The mobilization will also cost the Defense Department roughly $134 million, said Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, Hegseth’s acting comptroller.
Hegseth, again in Wednesday’s hearing, strongly defended President Donald Trump’s militarized response to the protests over federal immigration raids in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities.
Congressional lawmakers, especially Democrats, are demanding that Hegseth provide more details around the department's fiscal year 2026 budget.
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