Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) attempted to lay a trap for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a Tuesday hearing, demanding to know which federal law justified sending the National Guard in to quell violent riots on the streets of Los Angeles — and Hegseth made it clear that he would not be baited.
Aguilar began his time by reading a section of U.S. Code 12406, saying that the federal statute allowed for three separate conditions under which the federal government would be justified in deploying the National Guard domestically: foreign invasion, rebellion against the federal government, and a president’s inability to effectively enforce the law.
WATCH:
Q: U.S. Code 12406 cites three examples to implement Guard. What is the justification to use the Guard:
1. Invasion by foreign nation.
2. In the event of a rebellion or danger of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.
3. If the President is… pic.twitter.com/g91l0iZ3kO— DOD Rapid Response (@DODResponse) June 10, 2025
“The U.S. Code 12406, the legal basis that the president used, cites three examples and circumstances for the guard,” Aguilar began. “Invasion by a foreign nation, a rebellion or a dangerous rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States, or the president is unable for — with regular forces — to execute the laws of the United States.”
“Which authority is triggered here to justify the use?” Aguilar asked Hegseth directly.
“I don’t know, you just read it yourself and people can listen themselves,” Hegseth said, adding, “It sounds like all three to me. If you’ve got millions of illegals and you don’t know where they’re coming from, they’re waving flags from foreign countries, and assaulting police officers and the president’s officers, that’s a problem.”
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Aguilar kept talking over Hegseth, asking, “Do you think the president’s unable to execute the laws of the United States? You just said — that the president is unable to execute the laws of the United States?”
“The Governor of California is unable to execute the laws of the United States,” Hegseth shot back. “The Governor of California has failed to protect his people, along with the Mayor of Los Angeles, so President Trump has said he will protect our agents, and our Guard and Marines are proud to do it.”
President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to quell the riots after violent protesters damaged public and private property — and attacked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and local law enforcement — in their efforts to prevent ICE from executing federal law as directed by the president.