{"id":70371,"date":"2025-06-12T17:27:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T17:27:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2025\/06\/12\/hegseth-doesnt-commit-to-obeying-courts-on-la-deployments-in-hearing\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:21:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:21:54","slug":"hegseth-doesnt-commit-to-obeying-courts-on-la-deployments-in-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2025\/06\/12\/hegseth-doesnt-commit-to-obeying-courts-on-la-deployments-in-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth doesn\u2019t initially commit to obeying courts on LA deployments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note: This report has been updated to include remarks Hegseth made later in Thursday\u2019s hearing after the report\u2019s initial publication.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth<\/a> initially sidestepped questions from a lawmaker on whether he would obey a court were it to rule that the Trump administration\u2019s recent deployment of active-duty troops to Los Angeles was illegal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I can say is we should not have local judges determining foreign policy and national security policy in the country,\u201d Hegseth said, testifying Thursday before the House Armed Services Committee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The secretary responded to questions from Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who pressed on the controversial use of military forces in the city<\/a> in response to protests against the administration\u2019s immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not willing to say you would respect those decisions,\u201d Khanna asked, referencing potential rulings by a district court and the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m saying is: Local district judges shouldn\u2019t make foreign policy for the United States,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t