U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly refused to say whether he would comply with the court's forthcoming ruling on President Donald Trump's deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles.
During Thursday's House Armed Services Committee hearing, California Rep. Ro Khanna pressed Hegseth four times to state whether he would abide by the rulings of both the district and Supreme Court regarding President Trump's militarization of Los Angeles. The questioning followed California Governor Gavin Newsom's emergency motion filed Monday to block the federal deployment, warning that using the military against American citizens is "unprecedented" and poses a threat to democracy.
Hegseth initially claimed it was a "pending situation." He then stated that his "job right now is to ensure the troops that we have in Los Angeles are capable of supporting law enforcement," adding that the administration has constitutional and statutory authority to do so.
The defense leader then claimed the administration has "always looked to the decisions of the courts" before Khanna reminded him that Vice President JD Vance does not believe courts' rulings should affect military matters.
"Well, this is not my lane, but we also recognize that the way in which the judiciary has expanded its powers during the Trump administration is quite clear," Hegseth added in a clip circulating on X.
The Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth refusing to say whether he would abide by a decision from federal courts. pic.twitter.com/VbnEiyuEHW
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 12, 2025
When asked again, the former Fox News anchor answered by claiming the nation "should not have local judges determining foreign policy or national security policy for the country."
"What I'm saying is local district judges shouldn't make foreign policy for the United States," Hegseth said after Khanna's final attempt to elicit a yes-or-no response.
A Federal District Court judge in San Francisco will hear arguments from both the Trump administration and Newsom later today, per The New York Times.
Originally published on Latin Times
