At a Senate hearing today, Pete Hegseth doubled down on Donald Trump’s dangerous agenda and broadcast his incompetence — laughing at a U.S. senator when she asked him about shooting unarmed protestors and refusing to say he will follow the law. Hegseth made it clear that he will enable Trump to carry out his campaign of revenge and retribution.  

TODAY: Pete Hegseth refused to answer questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee on Donald Trump recklessly deploying federal troops to suppress those he views as political opponents.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin: “Have you given the order to be able to shoot at unarmed protesters in any way?”

Pete Hegseth: *Laughs* …

Sen. Slotkin: “It is based on Donald Trump giving that order to your predecessor, to a Republican secretary of defense who I give a lot of credit to because he didn’t accept the order. He had more guts and balls than you because he said, ‘I’m not going to send in the uniformed military to do something that I know in my gut isn’t right.’”

Sen. Mazie Hirono: “If a court says this deployment of troops into our cities is not legal, would you follow that court’s order?” …

Hegseth: “I don’t believe district courts should be determining national security policy. … If it goes to the Supreme Court, we’ll see.”

Sen. Slotkin: “Do they have the ability, the uniformed military, to arrest and detain protesters currently, today?”

Hegseth: “Um. I-”

Slotkin: “It’s a yes or no thing.”

Hegseth: *Doesn’t answer question*

Slotkin: “Be a man. List it out. Did you authorize them to detain or arrest? That is a fundamental issue of democracy.”

Trump bypassed the authority of a sitting governor — the first time in about 60 years that a president has done so — and deployed the Marines and National Guard troops to suppress protests in California. 

Washington Post: “President Donald Trump’s order to deploy 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles appears unprecedented, relying on an unorthodox use of a law aimed at quelling serious domestic unrest or an attack on the United States by a foreign power, some legal experts said Sunday.

“It marks the first time in about 60 years that an American president has taken such action without a governor’s consent. Furthermore, his executive order authorizes the Pentagon to dispatch military personnel domestically to enable federal functions and protect government property — a chilling sign, the experts said, that Trump is prepared to send troops into other cities in response to protests.” 

ABC News: “Remarkable images are emerging of Marines training and National Guardsmen armed with rifles accompanying ICE agents on raids in Los Angeles.

“It’s a scene President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth say can be replicated in any other American city where there are protests against the administration’s immigration crackdown.”

Politico: “California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Donald Trump’s threats against him and other Democrats following the president’s unilateral deployment of National Guard troops to the Los Angeles area carried all the markings of authoritarianism. …

“Trump and his border czar have targeted Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass by name with threats of arrests — and other ominous unspecified acts to be carried out by the federal government if the two don’t fall in line. …

“California on Monday sued the Trump administration for authorizing the deployment against their will. The president and aides portrayed the move as just the start of potentially escalated action, including sending hundreds of U.S. Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton.”

REMINDER: Trump has suggested using the military to suppress political speech before. 

NPR: “Former Pentagon chief Esper says Trump asked about shooting protesters”

“Former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said President Donald Trump inquired about shooting protesters amid the unrest that took place after George Floyd’s murder in 2020. …

“Esper said he stayed in the administration because he worried that if he left, the president would more easily implement some of his ‘dangerous ideas.’ … 

“Esper said he and other top officials were caught off guard by Trump’s reaction to the unrest in the summer of 2020.”