Tag Archives: Department of Defense

Axios: Senate Democrats press Hegseth on domestic military deployment plan

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Senate Democrats on Wednesday demanded the Trump administration to share its plans to deploy active duty military in cities across the U.S.

President Trump’s decision to send active duty Marines and National Guard to Los Angeles following pro-immigrants’ rights protests sparked more demonstrations nationwide.

  • Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sparked additional backlash after she said the goal is to “liberate” Los Angeles from its elected Democratic leaders during a press conference where Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed.
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested that the Trump administration would not respect district court orders to disband troops, but that it would abide by a Supreme Court ruling.

“I have been deeply disturbed and alarmed by the use of active-duty troops, Marines in Los Angeles,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said.

  • “And President Trump has made clear his intentions to continue to use the military to suppress dissent and likely inflame tensions there and elsewhere all under the guise of enforcing the law. What he’s doing may well be illegal.”
  • Hegseth pushed back on the claim that the deployments have been illegal, but he did not confirm whether contingency plans were in place for using military in other cities.

“I take it from your answer that you do have contingency plans for the use of military in other cities,” Blumenthal said.

Hegseth did not address Blumenthal’s request.

Hegseth is a slimy, slippery snake who will never give an honest answer to a direct question.

Senate Democrats press Hegseth on domestic military deployment plan
Blumenthal said he was “deeply disturbed and alarmed” after Marines were sent to Los Angeles.

https://www.axios.com/2025/06/18/hegseth-senate-testimony-blumenthal-military-domestic-protests

News Nation: LA’s undocumented immigrants try to avoid ICE

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  • ICE has been targeting stores where day laborers congregate
  • The raids in LA sparked protests in the city
  • Workers have stayed home out of fear of being detained

Raiding stores like Home Depot has become a common strategy for ICE, with stores across Southern California reporting raids.

One Cuban immigrant who asked to remain anonymous told NewsNation he’s seen men get snatched up in parking lots.

“[It’s like] you’re catching animals, it’s like they’re not considering these people to be human because you take their freedom and they have committed no crime,” he said. “Some of them don’t even hear their Fifth Amendment right, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in law.”

…

Immigrants who spoke to NewsNation said they are not criminals, they’re just honest people looking for work, trying to feed their families and support themselves.

LA’s undocumented immigrants try to avoid ICE

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/la-immigrants-avoid-ice

Raw Story: FBI ‘opened the door for me’: Padilla smashes [Bimbo #2] Noem’s excuse for security scuffle

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“While waiting for my scheduled briefing,” Padilla said, “I learned that Homeland Security Secretary [Bimbo #2] Noem was holding a press conference literally just down the hall, and that press conference was causing my briefing to be delayed.”

The senator went on to explain he wanted to listen to [Bimbo #2] Noem’s press conference “in the hopes of hearing Secretary Noem provide some new information that could help us make sense of what was happening.”

“I didn’t just get up and go,” Padilla said, “I asked and was escorted by the national guardsmen and the FBI agent into the press conference.”

“They opened the door for me,” the California Senator said. “They accompanied me into the press briefing room, and they stood next to me as I stood there for a while, listening.”

After the incident, [Bimbo #2] Noem claimed she and security officers had no idea who Padilla was as, she claimed, he pushed towards her in the briefing.

Padilla claims [Bimbo #2] Noem said the purpose of federal law enforcement and military was to “liberate Los Angeles from our governor and our mayor.”

He then asked his fellow senators to contemplate that statement, “To somehow liberate us from the very people that we democratically elected to lead our city and our state.”

“Colleagues,” Padilla said, “let that fundamentally un-American mission statement sink in. That is not a mission focused on public safety, and that simply is not and cannot be the mission of federal law enforcement and the United States military.”

The senator went on to say he was “compelled both as a Senator and as an American to speak up.”

Padilla claimed that before he could get out his question, he was “physically and aggressively forced out of the room,” he added, “even as I repeatedly announced I was a United States Senator.”

He claims the agents who escorted him into the room stood by silently as he was “pushed, pulled, and struggled to maintain his balance.”

FBI ‘opened the door for me’: Padilla smashes Noem’s excuse for security scuffle

https://www.rawstory.com/alex-padilla-2672386522

2paragraphs: U.S. Senator Accuses Pete Hegseth of Lying About Hiring MAGA Civilians, “This Is Outrageous”

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When Murray said “the Navy needs welders, not people who can recite a president’s executive orders,” Hegseth sought to reassure the Senator, saying “there’s never been a litmus test for hiring welders.”

This week, Murray obtained a copy of Hegseth’s “hiring merit plan” and questionnaire which includes the query, “How would you help advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.”

Murray responded to Hegseth’s Pentagon litmus test questionnaire, saying: “This is outrageous.”

U.S. Senator Accuses Pete Hegseth of Lying About Hiring MAGA Civilians, “This Is Outrageous”

Knewz: Kristi Noem’s Pentagon Request Sparks Firestorm

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Knewz.com is reporting that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to authorize U.S. military personnel in Los Angeles to detain civilians amid ongoing immigration-related protests. This request came shortly before President Trump ordered the deployment of U.S. Marines to support operations in the area. The move has sparked legal debate, as it potentially challenges long-standing restrictions on the military’s role in domestic law enforcement.

Noem urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to direct Department of Defense forces to either “detain, just as they would at any federal facility guarded by military, lawbreakers under Title 18 until they can be arrested and processed by federal law enforcement, or arrest them.”

…

Experts warn Noem’s request could escalate tensions and erode civil liberties by blurring military and civilian law enforcement roles.

Kristi Noem’s Pentagon Request Sparks Firestorm

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/kristi-noem-s-pentagon-request-sparks-firestorm/ss-AA1GLJiF

Newsweek: Gavin Newsom accuses Trump administration of spreading fake protest images

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On X, formerly Twitter, the Department of Defense’s Rapid Response account posted a video that appeared to show burning, graffitied police cars during protests in Los Angeles this week.

However, the fact-checking website Snopes said the image showed protests in Los Angeles following the death of George Floyd in May 2020.

The governor’s office wrote on X on Friday: “HUGE DEVELOPMENT: An official Department of Defense account is spreading fake images—from old protests—to justify Trump’s illegal militarization of Los Angeles. This isn’t just disinformation. It’s a propaganda campaign from the Pentagon.”

Gavin Newsom accuses Trump administration of spreading fake protest images
The president deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in response to anti-ICE protests.

https://www.newsweek.com/gavin-newsom-trump-fake-protest-images-2085492

Atlantic: The Shame of Trump’s Parade

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Today’s events are another step in an ongoing effort to turn the U.S. military into a partisan—and personal—instrument of the president.

Today—250 years since the Continental Army officially formed to fight for the independence of the American colonies against the British monarchy—marks a milestone in President Donald Trump’s effort to politicize the U.S. military. Though they are rare, military parades have happened before in Washington, D.C. For the most part, these have been celebrations of military achievements, such as the end of a war. But today is also Trump’s birthday, and what he and his supporters have planned is a celebration of Trump himself.

A mark of a free society is that its public institutions, especially its military, represent the body politic and the freedom-enabling equal rights that structure civic life. If service members and the public begin to believe that the military is not neutral but is in fact the servant of MAGA, this will threaten the military’s legitimacy and increase the likelihood of violent conflict between the military and the public. Today’s events bring us one step closer to this disaster.

And a few lies, none of which are true:

The organizers have made it abundantly clear that today’s purpose is to directly laud Trump and his politics. In promotional materials, they tell us, “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Army has been restored to strength and readiness.” They credit his “America First agenda” for military pay increases, enlarged weapons stockpiles, new technologies, and improvements in recruitment, declaring that he has “ensured our soldiers have the tools and support they need to win on any battlefield.”

As the Trump-aggrandizing bullshit piles up:

Monica Crowley, the State Department’s chief of protocol and a former Fox News host, went on Steve Bannon’s podcast WarRoom to say that the concurrence of the U.S. Army’s anniversary and Trump’s birthday is “providential.” She called it “meant to be. Hand of God, for sure.” She added, “It is really a gift, and we want to be sure that we celebrate in a manner that is fitting, not just of this extraordinary president but of our extraordinary country.” She also expressed hope that the crowd would serenade the president with “Happy Birthday.” Clearly, Trump isn’t merely the guest of honor; he is the reason for the party.

The Shame of Trump’s Parade
Today’s events are another step in an ongoing effort to turn the U.S. military into a partisan—and personal—instrument of the president.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/06/250th-anniversary-army-parade/683162

New York Magazine: Playing Secretary — Could These Be Pete Hegseth’s Last Days in the Pentagon?

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As war looms, Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon is beset by infighting over leaks, drugs, and socks. How long will Trump stand by his man?

In the drama of Hegseth’s January confirmation hearings, it was easy to get distracted by the financial settlement for an assault allegation, by the multitudinous accounts of heavy drinking on the job, by claims of misogyny from both his mother and his sister-in-law, by the fact that Hegseth, while married with three small children, had fathered a child with a Fox News producer who was also married with small children, during which pregnancy he had slept with the woman who later accused him of assault, and thereby miss some straightforward information about his managerial experience.

Pete Hegseth had run a nonprofit called Veterans for Freedom for several years, an organization that employed fewer than 20 people, and resigned after alleged financial mismanagement nearly bankrupted the organization. He had run a group called Concerned Veterans for America, which employed around 160 people, and resigned amid allegations of misconduct and, once again, financial mismanagement.

In choosing Hegseth, Donald Trump did not choose from the large set of people who had never managed an organization, or the considerably smaller set of people who had managed an organization without incident, but from a smaller still set of people who had managed multiple bureaucracies and resigned multiple times under complex circumstances.

It’s a good read but a bit long. Click the link below to read the entire article:

Could These Be Pete Hegseth’s Last Days in the Pentagon?
archived 13 Jun 2025 19:07:18 UTC

https://archive.is/xG4FF#selection-1205.0-1209.128

Politico: Hegseth won’t commit to obeying courts on Marines in Los Angeles

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The Defense secretary said he’d comply with a Supreme Court order blocking Trump’s domestic deployment, but did not commit to the other courts.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that he would obey a Supreme Court order to remove troops from Los Angeles but declined to show similar deference to other courts considering the issue.

The Pentagon chief initially deflected when asked at a House Armed Services Committee hearing whether he would abide by a court’s decision if it determined President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops and Marines was unlawful.

“What I can say is we should not have local judges determining foreign policy or national security policy for the country,” Hegseth said.

But the Defense secretary later clarified that he would obey a decision from the high court.

“We’re not here to defy a Supreme Court ruling,” he said.

The comments mirror other officials who have criticized court rulings that go against the Trump administration, often directing withering criticism at lower-court judges while vowing deference to the justices.

The troops and their commanders might need a reminder that their oath is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not the ego of a drunk O-3 wife-beater. Soldiers can be prosecuted for following illegal orders, i.e. being ordered to ignore a legitimate decision of a circuit or appellate court. Any arrests and charges by the troops under such circumstances should be null & void.

Hegseth won’t commit to obeying courts on Marines in Los Angeles
The Defense secretary said he’d comply with a Supreme Court order blocking Trump’s domestic deployment, but did not commit to the other courts.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/12/hegseth-marines-los-angeles-00402794

Daily Beast: ICE Barbie [Bimbo #2] Asked Hegseth to Give Bombshell Order to Troops in L.A.

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In a leaked letter, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem asked the military to start arresting rioters in Los Angeles.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem has asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to instruct soldiers deployed to Los Angeles to help arrest rioters, even though the military is generally barred from domestic law enforcement.

In a leaked letter, [Bimbo #2] Noem asked Hegseth on Sunday to have the Pentagon give “direction to [Department of Defense] forces to either detain, just as they would at any federal facility guarded by military, lawbreakers under Title 18 until they can be arrested and processed by federal law enforcement, or arrest them,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

ICE Barbie Asked Hegseth to Give Bombshell Order to Troops in L.A.
In a leaked letter, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asked the military to start arresting rioters in Los Angeles.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kristi-noem-asked-pete-hegseth-to-give-bombshell-order-to-troops-in-la