A heated exchange erupted in the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vehemently denied allegations of mistreating troops deployed to quell riots in Los Angeles, California.
The accusations, leveled by Democrat California Rep. Pete Aguilar, claimed that National Guard and Marine personnel were being forced to sleep on floors and lacked essential provisions like food and water.
Rep. Aguilar opened his questioning with a pointed inquiry: “There have been photographs that have shown these troops sleeping on the floor and they have not been provided fuel, food or water by DOD. How long will this deployment last, and why were we unprepared to provide them basic necessities such as food and water?”
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Secretary Hegseth, however, was quick to push back, asserting that the troops on the ground are “very well prepared.” He emphasized the rapid response of the forces to a “deteriorating situation” and assured the committee that the Department of Defense (DOD) is ensuring their well-being. “We have made sure from the top down… we are making sure they are housed, fed, water, [have] capabilities in real time from my office because I care that much about the California [National] Guard, and the Marines and the men and women who are supporting our [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents on the ground,” Hegseth stated, drawing on his own experience with immediate deployments.
Aguilar then escalated his critique, accusing Hegseth of not caring about the troops and allowing them to serve in poor conditions. This charge was met with a staunch rebuttal from the Defense Secretary. “That’s a disingenuous attack that represents how much we care about our troops and what they’re doing to defend ICE agents. I’m not gonna take the fact that we don’t care about the troops. Nobody cares more about the troops at the top than this secretary and the chairman of our department,” Hegseth declared.
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Hegseth also dismissed any suggestion that the DOD might be redirecting funding from quality-of-life programs to support the Los Angeles deployment.
The contentious hearing comes as President Trump’s decision to deploy at least 2,000 National Guard troops and approximately 700 U.S. Marines to combat ongoing violence in Los Angeles faces significant pushback. The city has been gripped by riots, with reports of looting, vandalism, arson, and attacks on law enforcement in response to recent ICE raids.
The state of California has already sued the Trump administration over the deployment, with Democrat California Attorney General Rob Bonta branding the president’s actions as “unnecessary and counterproductive.” Adding to the tension, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN that her city is “calm,” despite live footage airing of rioters setting an unspecified object ablaze.
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The political sparring further intensified with President Trump’s recent remarks. He publicly stated he would have California Governor Newsom arrested if he were former acting ICE director Tom Homan, labeling Newsom “grossly incompetent.” Trump also claimed to have personally told Newsom “to do a better job” handling the riots, a conversation Newsom has denied ever took place.
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