From PBS NewsHour.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not directly answer a question from a Democratic lawmaker Wednesday about whether he supported the decision to activate the National Guard during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Hegseth has strongly defended President Donald Trump’s militarized response to the protests over federal immigration raids in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said during a budget subcommittee hearing that he wanted to give Hegseth a chance to respond to concerns that the Trump administration was applying a double standard to protests .
“The president, when he came into office, issued pardons to the individuals that attacked the United States Capitol, including those individuals who beat savagely police officers,” he said. “You have deployed the National Guard and readied Marines in a way that many people think is unnecessary given the state and the local resources.”
Murphy asked if Hegseth supported the National Guard being sent to defend the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
“All I know is it’s the right decision to be deploying the National Guard in Los Angeles to defend ICE agents who deserve to be defended in the execution of their jobs,” Hegseth said.
Murphy pressed twice more, adding that it was important for people to know “that you care about protest, whether it’s against the president or on behalf of the president.”
Hegseth didn’t answer the senator’s question, but added that he was a part of the D.C. Army National Guard at that time and was initially ordered to guard President Joe Biden’s inauguration, but “because of the politicization of the Biden administration, my orders were revoked."
After some crosstalk, Murphy said Hegseth’s response “speaks to the worry that many Americans have that there is a double standard, that you are not willing to defend against attacks made on our democracy by supporters of the president, but you are willing to deploy the National Guard to protect against protesters who are criticizing the president.”
Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show.
Subscribe for exclusive content in our newsletters: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/subscribe
PBS News podcasts: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/podcasts
Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG
Find more from PBS News at https://www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6
Follow us:
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbsnews
X: http://www.twitter.com/newshour
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour
Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour
