Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), who commanded a Marine platoon in Afghanistan, is raising concerns about President Trump’s deployment of Marines to Los Angeles amid immigration protests in the city.
“As a Marine, did you ever expect to see active-duty members of the military, active-duty Marines deployed on U.S. soil in the capacity that they are now?” CNN’s John Berman asked Auchincloss on “Anderson Cooper 360” in an interview highlighted by Mediaite.
“No, John, because in this scenario, as in almost every scenario imaginable, it is unnecessary, it’s illegal and it’s deeply unfair to these Marines,” Auchincloss responded.
The 700 Marines mobilized to the Los Angeles area Monday hadn’t completed premission training as of Wednesday morning, a U.S. Northern Command official confirmed to The Hill.
The Marines were “still conducting pre-mission training and they have not been employed by Task Force 51, the DoD command element in Los Angeles,” a statement from a Northern Command spokesperson said.
“These Marines signed up to sweat and bleed in defense of their country, not to be a political prop for a president who’s sagging in the approval ratings,” Auchincloss said Wednesday.
Tensions between Democrats and Trump have flared amid the situation in Los Angeles, with the president recently deciding to mobilize thousands of California National Guard Troops and the active-duty Marines to quell immigration protests in LA.
Trump has sparred with California officials over the deployment, chiefly Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who did not request federal intervention and is challenging Trump’s moves in court. Earlier this week, Trump backed arresting Newsom after the governor dared the White House border czar to do so amid their clash over the immigration protests.
“The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor,” Newsom fired back in a post on social platform X. “This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”