Home Democratic leaders let free on Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, hammering the Protection secretary over new directives to the nation’s generals urging an finish to “woke” insurance policies on the Pentagon and a return to “male standards” on the battlefield.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) characterised Hegseth’s speech, delivered Tuesday on the Quantico Marine base in Northern Virginia, as “shameful, chaotic [and] unhinged.”
“We can go down the litany of terrible ideas and policy positions that the secretary mentioned,” Aguilar, the chair of the Home Democratic Caucus, informed reporters within the Capitol. “By the way, [he’s] the most unqualified secretary of Defense that this country has ever seen. So it’s hard to take him [seriously].”
The Democratic leaders additionally went after President Trump, who additionally addressed the generals at Quantico on Tuesday, notably over his suggestion that the navy ought to be deployed to combat crime in Democratic-led cities.
“We do not deploy American forces against Americans in our cities,” stated Rep. Ted Lieu (Calif.), a former Air Power lawyer who’s now the vice chair of the Home Democratic Caucus.
“Our military is not to be used for domestic law enforcement. It is not trained to do that,” he continued. “It is also unlawful for Donald Trump to order U.S. troops in opposition to Individuals in American cities. A federal choose has stated so. We anticipate the appellate courts, and even the Supreme Court docket, to uphold that ruling.”
Lieu was referring to provisions underneath the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which sharply restricts the usage of the navy for home legislation enforcement functions. Aguilar stated he provided an modification on the Appropriations Committee over the summer season stipulating that no funds can be utilized in violation of that legislation. It handed with broad Republican help.
“They feel this is a nonissue, or they did two months ago,” Aguilar stated. “I’m curious if they feel things have changed now.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday endorsed the thought of increasing the deployment of Nationwide Guard troops in cities across the nation, as Trump has already finished in Washington, D.C.
“They brought crime down dramatically in D.C.,” Johnson informed CNN. “And all of us are safe, our staffs are safe, they‘re not walking in fear right now. I think we should do that in every major city run by Democrats who aren‘t serious.”
Trump is floating the thought of taking {that a} step additional, by deploying active-duty troops, not simply Nationwide Guard personnel.
“San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles. … It’s a war from within,” Trump stated in Quantico. “I told Pete [Hegseth], we should use some of these cities as training grounds for our military — National Guard, but military. We’re going into Chicago very soon.”
Lieu, in criticizing that proposal as unlawful, famous that the generals in attendance on Tuesday stayed largely silent when Trump and Hegseth had concluded their remarks.
“Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth were expecting rousing applause and standing ovations from our nation’s generals, and they were met with silence,” Lieu stated. “It was the silence of the generals. And the generals knew that what Trump was saying was wrong.”
