
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 Committee hearing on the Pentagon's FY 2026, 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.