The Latest: California challenges Trump’s use of military in Los Angeles
Opponents of President Donald Trump ’s administration are set to rally in hundreds of cities on Saturday during the military parade in Washington for the Army’s 250th anniversary — which coincides with Trump’s birthday — as protests grow in response to his immigration policies. The “No Kings” protests have been called, organizers say, to protect America’s democracy as Trump vows to increase his deployment of military forces inside the United States.
A federal court hearing is scheduled for Thursday challenging Trump’s use of the National Guard and Marines to support immigration raids in Los Angeles. California Gov. Gavin Newsom warns that the military intervention is the onset of a much broader effort by Trump to overturn norms at the heart of America’s political system. Testifying Thursday before Congress, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called it “an assault on our American values.”
Here’s the Latest:
Hegseth tells Congress Pentagon has military plans for potential Panama, Greenland invasions
The defense secretary revealed it in a heated exchange with Washington Democrat Rep. Adam Smith, confirming that the Pentagon has drafted plans to take Greenland and Panama by force if necessary.
“I don’t think the American people voted for President Trump because they were hoping we would invade Greenland,” Smith said.
“I think the American people would want the Pentagon to have plans for any particular contingency,” Hegseth responded.
Drawing up contingency plans for potential conflicts is not unusual at the Pentagon, but Trump wants to increase U.S. influence in Panama and has suggested the U.S. military take Greenland, which has become more strategic as the U.S. seeks to bolster defenses against China.
“Greenland is not for sale,” said Jacob Isbosethsen, the government’s representative to the U.S., pushing back Thursday at an Arctic Institute forum in Washington.
Third day of Pete Hegseth testimony: No answers, no budget, and frustrated lawmakers
The defense secretary offered no additional details on the defense budget and did not address questions on many of the programs lawmakers still do not have information on to fund — criticism that came from both the leading Republican and Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
Hegseth also faced scathing criticism from Washington Democrat Adam Smith, the ranking member, that his emphasis on social changes instead of programs is leading the Pentagon in the wrong direction.
Smith asked Hegseth why he has focused so much time on pulling books from academy shelves, or images from DOD websites, instead of giving lawmakers a budget. Hegseth ignored the comments and reiterated that his goal is to “restore the warrior ethos.”
Democratic governors tell Congress they’re complying with immigration law
Democratic governors have been called before Congress to defend their states’ immigration policies. Several condemned Trump’s crackdown on immigrants and stressed that enforcing immigration law is not the role of local and state governments.
“Illinois follows the law. But let me be clear, we expect the federal government to follow the law too,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Thursday. “We will not participate in abuses of power. We will not violate court orders.”
Pritzker, Hochul and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are testifying before the House Oversight committee, whose Republicans claim sanctuary policies make states unsafe. The governors said to the contrary — crime is down.
Hochul pointed to Los Angeles in her opening. “As we speak, an American city has been militarized over the objections of their governor,” she said. “This is a flagrant abuse of power and nothing short of an assault on our American values.”
Federal authorities arrest a man accused of distributing face shields to rioters
Federal authorities say they’ve arrested a man on suspicion of distributing face shields to suspected rioters this week during Los Angeles protests against the White House’s immigration crackdown.
Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, says the FBI took the man into custody Thursday morning. He could face a charge of conspiracy to commit civil disorders.
The man handed out the face shields to people Tuesday as a demonstration grew unruly in a downtown neighborhood, Essayli said in a post on X. Footage aired by FOX 11 and posted online by Essayli shows a man passing out face shields from a box in the back of a pickup truck.
Military involvement escalates in Los Angeles, could spread around US
Demonstrations have picked up across the U.S. with protests popping up in more than a dozen major cities and police containing the crowds. The Trump administration meanwhile said it is willing to send troops to other cities to assist with immigration enforcement and controlling disturbances, as Trump promised during last year’s campaign.
Some 2,000 Guard soldiers are in Los Angeles, soon to be joined by 2,000 more and about 700 Marines, said the operation’s commander, Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman. About 500 of the Guard troops have been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations, he said.
“We are expecting a ramp-up,” said Sherman. “I’m focused right here in LA, what’s going on right here. But you know, I think we’re, we’re very concerned.”
US governors are divided along party lines about military troops deployed to protests
Newsom is suing to try to stop Trump’s military intervention against protests over immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, calling it an assault on democracy. Meanwhile, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is putting the National Guard on standby in Texas cities where demonstrations are planned.
Their divergent approaches illustrate how both parties’ governors are trying to navigate national politics and executive power.
All 22 other Democratic governors signed a statement Sunday calling Trump’s deployments “an alarming abuse of power.”
In Republican-controlled states, governors have not said when or how they’re planning to deploy the military at protests.
Read more on how US governors are reacting to Trump’s military deployment
Hearing set on Trump’s use of National Guard and Marines to help with immigration raids
California Gov. Newsom requested emergency intervention against the military deployment in the nation’s second largest city, warning that it’s part of a much broader effort to overturn political and cultural norms at the heart of the nation’s democracy.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says the deployment of roughly 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines is unnecessary and meant to intimidate the large immigrant population.
Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth. The Trump administration called Newsom’s lawsuit a “crass political stunt endangering American lives.”
The Democratic governor argues that sending troops to help support immigration raids would only promote civil unrest. Protests have already spread to other cities, and Trump has vowed to deploy more troops.
Read more about California’s legal challenge of Trump’s military deployment
AP/NORC survey: Americans weigh in on Trump parade
The Army expects as many as 200,000 people could attend and says putting on the celebration will cost an estimated $25 million to $45 million.
That’s OK with Carol Sue Quillen, 69, of Live Oak, Florida, who describes herself as a Trump supporter and said “I don’t necessarily think we appreciate our military as much as we should.”
But Matt Wheeler, 40, said the “extremely wasteful” military display “just sends a bad message.”
Wheeler, who works in nonprofit fundraising in Los Angeles and described himself as a lifelong Democrat, compared it to “old throwbacks to the USSR or things you see out of North Korea. …. that isn’t in line with what I thought our country really was.”
The poll also shows that approval of Trump’s handling of immigration stands at 46% overall.
Read more about the AP-NORC Poll on Trump’s military parade
AP-NORC poll: Most say Trump’s military parade is not a good use of money
A new survey finds that U.S. adults are more likely to approve than disapprove of Trump’s decision to hold a military parade that officials have said will cost tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.
The survey found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults “somewhat” or “strongly” approve of the parade, while about 3 in 10 “somewhat” or “strongly” disapprove.
About 6 in 10 Americans say Saturday’s parade is “not a good use” of government money — including the vast majority of people, 78%, who neither approve nor disapprove of the parade overall, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Attendees of the military parade in Washington this weekend will hear a familiar voice.
Trump announced Thursday morning that Greenwood will be performing at the parade on Saturday, which marks the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and also happens to be the president’s 79th birthday.
Greenwood is the singer behind “God Bless the USA,” which has been Trump’s walk-on song at rallies for years.
“What a day it will be!!!” Trump wrote on his social media site.
What to know about the ‘No Kings’ protests planned for Saturday
The “No Kings” protests are set to take place to counter what organizers say are Trump’s plans to feed his ego this Saturday during a military parade on what is also Trump’s 79th birthday.
The “No Kings” theme was orchestrated by the 50501 Movement, a national movement made up of everyday Americans who stand for democracy and against what they call the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration. The name 50501 stands for 50 states, 50 protests, one movement.
Protests earlier this year have denounced Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk, the now former leader of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, a government organization designed to slash federal spending. Protesters have called for Trump to be “dethroned” as they compare his actions to that of a king and not a democratically elected president.
Read more about the “No Kings” protests scheduled this weekend