During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was questioned by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) regarding the deployment of several thousand troops to Los Angeles and the alleged detention of protesters. The hearing highlighted concerns over military involvement in domestic affairs, during which Slotkin criticized Hegseth’s leadership.

Slotkin compared Hegseth’s actions to those of President Donald Trump’s former Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Esper allegedly resisted Trump’s order to deploy active-duty troops against unarmed protesters. She noted that Hegseth previously referred to the order as “theoretical.”

Slotkin said, “Here we are, a few months later, you’ve deployed 4,700 troops to Los Angeles and against the wishes of the governor.” She later asked, “How do you authorize the uniform military to detain or arrest protesters in Los Angeles?”

Hegseth defended the deployment, saying troops were ordered to support law enforcement but did not clarify if lethal force was authorized. Hegseth said, “You’re not a protester if you’re throwing concrete.”

Slotkin compared Hegseth to Esper, stating, “He had more guts and balls than you because he said, ‘I’m not going to send in the uniform military to do something that I know in my gut isn’t right.'”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/more-guts-than-you-hegseth-faces-growing-scrutiny/ss-AA1HB3f5