Trump admin updates: Trump calls for expanded deportations in LA, NYC and more

Pete Hegseth was asked about military recruitment by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and the defense secretary touted record numbers of people who have signed up for military service. He claimed more people were excited about serving under President Donald Trump.

The congressman made a sarcastic comment referring to Hegseth and the administration's stance on removing transgender soldiers.

"Mr. secretary, I'm a little confused. are you telling me that the folks that are voting with the commitment to the country, are not upset that they are not allowed to use different pronouns?" the congressman said.

Hegseth chuckled, contending that "if they wanted to get a woke indoctrination, they can just go to college."

"Instead they are joining the military where we're focused on the basics. We know men are men, women are women," he added.

Defense Secretary Hegseth defended the deployment of 4,800 National Guard personnel and Marines to Los Angeles in his first congressional testimony since taking over the Pentagon.
Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, insisted the Marines aren't trained for a domestic mission.

"All of the units on the ground have been fully trained," Hegseth said.

Across Capitol Hill, Gen. Eric Smith, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, said that the 700 Marines being sent to Los Angeles are trained in crowd control and will be providing support to law enforcement in protecting federal property.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, expressed his doubts to Smith about the use of combat-trained units domestically saying he had concerns and was "deeply worried" that their deployment increased the risk of lethal force possibly being used.

"As Marines, senator, I would say that all Marines are trained in crowd control, embassy reinforcement, etc. So this is part of their training. Sure, all Marines are trained in crowd control, sir, the standard Marine Expeditionary Unit before they deploy is trained, and this battalion was ready for that," Smith responded.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the deployment of National Guard members and Marines to California.

"So in Los Angeles, we believe that ICE, which is a federal law enforcement agency, has the right to safely conduct operations in any state, in any jurisdiction in the country, especially after 21 million illegals have crossed our border under the previous administration. ICE ought be able to do its job, whether it's Minneapolis or Los Angeles," Hegseth said.

Trump's order deploying the National Guard didn't only specify Los Angeles, but rather directed Hegseth to "coordinate with the Governors of the States and the National Guard Bureau in identifying and ordering into Federal service the appropriate members and units of the National Guard under this authority."

Protests against immigration raids are also unfolding in other Democrat-led cities, such as Austin and New York City.

Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., came back to the military deployments to L.A. and asked how much it cost and what resources were being taken away by the move.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth repeatedly did not answer the question, and brought up the 2020 Minneapolis George Floyd protests, claiming that local police did not do enough to prevent budget damage.

"... ICE agents should be allowed to be safe and do their operations. And we have deployed the National Guard and the Marines to protect them in the execution of their duties," Hegseth said as he went on a back-and-forth with the congresswoman.

McCollum repeated her question about the budget on the L.A. deployments.

"What training missions aren't happening? Where are you pulling the money from, and how are you planning this in moving forward? These are budget questions that affect this committee and the decisions we're going to be making in a couple of hours," she said.