The Pentagon estimates the deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles to quell immigration raid protests will cost about $134 million, and that’s just the start. |
“The current estimated cost is $134 million, which is largely just [temporary duty travel] costs, travel, housing, food, etc.,” Bryn MacDonnell, the Defense Department’s acting comptroller and a special assistant to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said Tuesday. She told the House Appropriations defense subcommittee that the money will come from the Pentagon’s operation and maintenance accounts. The response came more than an hour after Hegseth initially refused to answer the question about the cost of President Trump’s decision to call in some 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles to quell protests of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. After the panel’s ranking member, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), pressed Hegseth on the cost of the deployments and whether any trainings were being pushed off due to the troop movements, the Pentagon chief instead defended ICE agents as having “the right to safely conduct operations in any state and any jurisdiction in the country.” He also attacked Democratic leaders for their handling of current and previous incidents of civil unrest, referencing the George Floyd murder protests in 2020 in Minneapolis and claiming Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) mobilized the National Guard “eventually far too late.” “President Trump recognizes a situation like that, improperly handled by a governor, like it was by Gov. Walz, if it gets out of control, it’s a bad situation for the citizens,” Hegseth said. Later in the hearing, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), expressed “severe concern with the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles without consultation of the state of California,” pointing to photographs circulating on social media that show troops sleeping on the floor of government buildings. He also repeated the claim from California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) that the service members have not been provided fuel, food or water by the Defense Department. “How long will the deployment last, and why were we not prepared to provide them with basics such as food and water?” he asked. Hegseth called the claim a “disingenuous attack” and said the troops “are very well prepared,” adding that the deployment of the Guard troops was expected to last 60 days. Read the full report at TheHill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. |
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Trump says he will ‘liberate’ Los Angeles in speech to mark the 250th anniversary of the Army |
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump called protesters in Los Angeles “animals” and “a foreign enemy” in a speech at Fort Bragg on Tuesday as he defended deploying the military on demonstrators opposed to his immigration enforcement raids and as he vowed to “liberate” the West Coast city. Trump, in his most aggressive language yet regarding the protests, used a speech ostensibly supposed to be used to recognize the … |
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The Memo: Trump’s National Guard move ratchets up controversy over looming military parade |
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The national furor over the situation in Los Angeles is bleeding into the debate over the massive military parade scheduled for Washington this weekend. The parade’s official purpose is to mark the 250th anniversary of the Army. But the day of the parade, June 14, is also President Trump’s birthday. The intersection of the two dates led to criticism from liberals from the moment the parade was announced, with allegations flung … |
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Military members boo Newsom, Biden and the press during Trump speech |
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Members of a crowd filled with members of the military and their families booed and jeered President Trump’s political rivals and the press Tuesday at the president’s prompting during his address at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The response from attendees, most of whom were wearing military fatigues, was a jarring sight given the military’s history as a traditionally nonpartisan entity. Presidents have historically … |
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Pentagon to restore names of 7 more Army bases that honored Confederate generals |
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President Trump on Tuesday announced the Pentagon will restore the names of the seven remaining military installations formerly named after Confederate generals after two others had been reverted back earlier this year. “For a little breaking news, we are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Picket, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rutger, Fort Poke and Fort AP Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee,” Trump told attendees at a Fort … |
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Upcoming things we’re watching on our beat: |
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine will appear before the Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee to testify on the Pentagon’s fiscal 2026 budget request at 10 a.m. Navy Secretary John Phelan, Acting Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith will testify on the Navy and Marine Corp’s fiscal 2026 budget request before the House Armed Services Committee at 10 a.m. President Trump will give remarks at the military parade honoring the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army on Saturday in Washington, D.C.
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{{if !contains(profile.lists,”Evening Report”)} {/if}} Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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Noem: LA a ‘city of criminals’ |
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declared Los Angeles a “city of criminals” while slamming Mayor Karen Bass (D) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) handling of ongoing protests against the Trump administration’s immigration raids. “Today, we had over 400 to 500 targets we were … |
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Events in and around the defense world: |
Defense Strategies Institute will hold its Human Performance and Biosystems Summit, with the theme “Enhancing Total Force Fitness for Mission Readiness,” at 8:45 a.m. Government Executive Media Group will have a conference on “From Creation to Command: The Power of Digital Content in Defense,” at 9 a.m. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll will deliver remarks at the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association virtual Army Data Summit at 11 a.m. A Senate Appropriations subcommittee will hold a hearing on “A Review of the President’s FY 2026 Budget Request for the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation,” at 2:30 p.m. A House Armed Services subpanel will hear from Army officials on “Army Munition Industrial Base Modernization,” at 3:30 p.m.
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News we’ve flagged from other outlets: |
Panel advances defense budget despite missing details from White House (Military Times) Trump says he will ‘liberate’ Los Angeles in speech to mark the 250th anniversary of the Army (The Associated Press) Army birthday celebration falls in shadow of LA military deployment, immigration policy protests (Military.com) With sirens screeching and explosions in the sky, Kyiv struggles to sleep (The New York Times)
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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Mikie Sherrill wins Democratic primary in New Jersey governor’s race |
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) has won the Democratic nomination for governor of New Jersey, coming out on top of a crowded field, according to Decision … Read more |
| McIver indicted on 3 federal charges for ‘forcibly impeding’ officers at New Jersey immigration center |
Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) was indicted Tuesday on federal charges claiming she forcibly impeded and interfered with law enforcement officers after … Read more |
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Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: |
Harvard’s long history of leftist support What the US can learn from Ukraine’s remarkable Operation Spider Web Unfixable FEMA puts the ‘disaster’ into ‘disaster recovery’
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You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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