Pete Hegseth was at a loss when a senator asked him to cite the part of the Constitution that authorized the deployment of 700 active-duty marines against anti-ICE protestors in Los Angeles.
“I’d have to pull up the specific provision,” Donald Trump’s defense secretary, testifying before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Wednesday, told Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat.
“But our Office of General Counsel, alongside our leadership, has reviewed and ensured, in the order that we set out, that it’s completely constitutional for the president to use federal troops to defend federal law enforcement.”
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Baldwin wasn’t appeased. “Look, I’d like to know the specific constitutional, statutory authority,” she said. The senator observed that Trump had pointed to the law he invoked to send the National Guard into L.A.
“There’s plenty of precedent of active-duty troops being used to support law enforcement—historical precedent,” Hegseth fired back.
Baldwin said she was not trying to dispute this point and pressed Hegseth once more for a straight answer.
“It’s in the order ma’am, but we’ll make sure we get it to you as well,” Hegseth said.
Trump sent in the marines on Monday, after previously deploying 2,000 national guardsmen over the weekend.
While a state’s governor typically signs off in the rare instance when troops are used against American citizens, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, did not approve the decision.
The governor has accused Trump of “manufacturing a crisis” by sending in troops and said the move was “purposely inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.”
As Trump again went over his head to deploy marines, Newsom pleaded with a court to intervene. “They must be stopped immediately,” read a court filing.
