@pbsnews: Troops deployed to Los Angeles by President Donald Trump in response to anti-ICE protests could be there for 60 days and will cost an estimated $134 million, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. “We stated very publicly that it's 60 days because we want to ensure that those rioters, looters and thugs on the other side assaulting our police officers know that we're not going anywhere,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing. “We're here to maintain the peace on behalf of law enforcement officers in Los Angeles, which Gavin Newsom won't do.” The Pentagon’s acting comptroller/CFO, Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, told lawmakers that this would cost an estimated $134 million, which will come out of operations and maintenance funds. California has sued the Trump administration for calling up state National Guard troops, saying the president has overstepped his authority. Some legal experts argue the president’s justification for calling up the National Guard is untested legal theory. On Monday, LA Police Chief Jim McDonnell said police response to the protests were complicated by federal law enforcement. Aguilar later asked Hegseth how the president justified deploying the National Guard. The congressman, whose district includes San Bernardino and a region east of Los Angeles, noted that federal law allows the president to call up the National Guard in three instances: when the U.S. is invaded or in danger of being invaded, when there’s a rebellion against the authority of the U.S. government, or when the president is unable to execute the law with regular forces. “I don't know, you just read it yourself and people can listen themselves, but it sounds like all three to me,” Hegseth said. “If you've got millions of illegals and you don't know where they're coming from, they're waving flags from foreign countries and assaulting police officers and law enforcement officers, that’s a problem.” “You and I both know that President Trump has all the authorities necessary and, thankfully, he’s willing to do it,” Hegseth added. #Trump #politics #News #gavinnewsom #ICE #immigration #nationalguard #losangeles

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Tuesday 10 June 2025 18:40:38 GMT