appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Bloomberg

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back against Democrats’ criticism of the decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles, telling Congress that the Trump administration wants to protect immigration agents and keep demonstrations there from getting out of control.
Asked by congresswoman Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat, how much the deployment would cost, Hegseth criticised Governor Tim Walz’s handling of protests that erupted after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis 2020.
US President Donald Trump recognises “a situation like that, improperly handled by a governor like it was by Governor Walz, if it gets out of control – it’s a bad situation for the citizens of any location”, Hegseth said.
He said Immigration and Customs Enforcement “has the right to safely conduct operations in any state and any jurisdiction in the country, especially after 21 million illegals have crossed our border under the previous administration”.
Hegseth’s comments during the hearing, which at times turned combative, echoed Trump’s remarks on Monday in which he said he “watched Minneapolis burn”. Officials also gave more detail on the scope of the deployment and the role the Marines will play.
Hegesth said the deployment would last 60 days, as detailed in a presidential memorandum over the weekend.


Speaking alongside the defence secretary, Acting Pentagon Comptroller Bryn MacDonnell said the deployment is estimated to cost US$134 million, which covers travel, housing and food. The funds would come from the department’s operations and maintenance accounts.
And in a separate Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Marine Corps Commandant General Eric Smith said the Marines deployed are trained in crowd control and “being deployed to support law enforcement”. They are equipped with “shields and batons” and “they do not have arrest authority”, he said.
The decision to send in the National Guard and the Marines has provoked an outcry from Democrats.
Congressman Pete Aguilar, a Democrat whose district includes a portion of Los Angeles, asked Hegseth: “Why are you sending war fighters to cities to interact with civilians?”
“Every American citizen deserves to live in a community that’s safe, and ICE agents need to be able to do their job,” Hegseth responded.
“And if they’re attacked, that’s lawless, and President Trump believes in law and order. So he has every authority” to deploy troops under US law.”
The protests entered their fifth day on Tuesday after more clashes between police and demonstrators rallying against a rising number of raids by ICE agents, who local officials say have stoked fear in the immigrant-rich community.
US law generally bars the use of the active-duty US military from carrying out domestic law enforcement. Trump over the weekend authorised Hegseth to deploy armed forces “as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions and property”.


Canada cannot replace US with China, Carney’s Conservative rival says

Pentagon readies 1,500 troops for potential Minnesota deployment

Minneapolis on edge as Trump threatens to use Insurrection Act and send in troops

Trump says pulling National Guard from Chicago, LA and Portland, for now

2025 Los Angeles protests

Hegseth grilled over Trump’s LA troop deployment, estimated to cost US$134 million

Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies before the House Committee on Appropriations subcommittee oversight hearing on the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Trump Jnr slammed by Korean-Americans for exploiting 1992 LA riots in ‘reckless’ post

Donald Trump Jnr, son of US President Donald Trump, speaks on a panel during The Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas on May 25. Photo: EPA-EFE

Donald Trump Jnr posted a photograph of a man with a rifle on a rooftop. Photo: X/DonaldJTrumpJr

Trump orders 700 Marines and 2,000 more National Guard to quell Los Angeles unrest

A protester taunts a line of California National Guard protecting a federal building in downtown Los Angeles on Monday. Photo: AP

Marines prepare to depart from an undisclosed location for the greater Los Angeles area. Photo: US Northern Commands via AFP 

California Governor Gavin Newsom. Photo: Reuters

Demonstrators face California National Guard troops outside the Federal Building in Los Angeles on Monday. Photo: AFP

Fireworks explode in the Little Tokyo neighbourhood of downtown Los Angeles on Monday. Photo: AFP

Police detain people in downtown Los Angeles on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Chinese state media seize on LA unrest as proof that America is broken

Police are seen through smoke on a motorway as protests rock downtown Los Angeles on June 8. Photo: AP

Australia’s Albanese calls shooting of journalist at Los Angeles protests ‘horrific’

Police officers clash with demonstrators during a protest in Los Angeles on June 9. Photo: AFP

Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was hit by a rubber bullet while covering the Los Angeles protests last week. Photo: X/9NewsAUS

Los Angeles unrest draws California Governor Newsom back into fight with Trump

California Governor Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump in January. File photo: AP

California Governor Gavin Newsom during a press conference about President Donald Trump’s tariffs in April. File photo: AP

 California Governor Gavin Newsom and US President Donald Trump in January. File photo: AFP 

A protester taunts a line of California National Guard on Monday. Photo: AP

Scenes in downtown Los Angeles on Monday. Photo: AFP

Police in riot gear. Photo: AFP

News

World

United States & Canada

The Pentagon chief defended the decision to send in the National Guard and the Marines amid protests over immigration raids


The Pentagon chief defended the decision to send in the National Guard and the Marines amid protests over immigration raids.


Hegseth grilled over Trump’s LA troop deployment, estimated to cost US$134 million

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Pentagon chief defended the decision to send in the National Guard and the Marines amid protests over immigration raids

The Pentagon chief defended the decision to send in the National Guard and the Marines amid protests over immigration raids