California's anti-ICE lawlessness to cost US taxpayers $134 MILLION in federal enforcement: Pentagon

In a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on Tuesday, a Pentagon official said that the military’s deployment of thousands of National Guardsmen and Marines to Los Angeles to quell the anti-ICE riots in the city will cost $134 million dollars and last 60 days.

Under questioning, Bryn MacDonnel said that the funding will come from the Department of Defense’s operations and maintenance budget, and will cover travel, housing, food, and other expenses. 

Rep Pete Aguilar said he was concerned about the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles "without consultation of the state of California," and said that photos have been taken showing "these troops sleeping on the floor" and "have not been provided fuel, food, or water by DOD." He asked, "how long will this deployment last, and why were we unprepared to provide them basic necessities such as food and water."

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said, "the commanders and troops on the field are very well prepared, sir." He later added, "there are moments where you make do the best you can temporarily, but we are ensuring they’re housed, fed, water capabilities in real time from my office, because I care that much about the California Huard and the Marines and the men and women who are supporting on the ground."

He said that it Aguilar’s question was a "disingenuous attack that misrepresents how much we care about our troops and what they're doing to defend ICE agents."

When pressed to answer how long the deployment will be, Hegseth said, "we stated very publicly that it's 60 days because we want to ensure that those rioters, looters, and thugs on the other side assaulting our police officers know that we're not going anywhere. We're here to maintain the peace on behalf of law enforcement officers in Los Angeles, which Gavin Newsom won't do."

In asking how much this would cost, Aguilar also asked whether the funding would be coming from quality of life programs "that affect our service members or families."

Hegseth replied, before handing the question over to MacDonnel, "the insinuation that we're pulling money from housing and barracks in order to fund this is disingenuous and incorrect."