House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) defended the Trump administration’s threat to deploy active-duty Marines on protesters in Los Angeles.
On Saturday, former Fox News host turn Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, raised the possibility of deploying active-duty US marines onto the streets of the prominent blue city amid the protests that had erupted in the wake of ICE raids in the state.
“Under President Trump, violence & destruction against federal agents & federal facilities will NOT be tolerated. It’s COMMON SENSE,” Hegseth wrote on X. “If violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized – they are on high alert.”
In an ABC News interview on Sunday, Johnson defended using the military on American citizens, saying it is ‘not heavy-handed.’
“One of our core principles is maintaining peace through strength. We do that on foreign affairs and domestic affairs as well. I don’t think that’s heavy-handed,” he said
“You don’t think sending the Marines into the streets of an American city is heavy-handed?” host Jonathan Karl pressed.
“We have to be prepared to do what is necessary, and I think the notice that that might happen might have the deterring effect,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, California governor Gavin Newsom (D), called the potential deployment of US marines in his state “deranged.”
“The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior,” Newsom wrote on X.
