Hegseth EXPOSED on Unlawful Orders, Secret Deployments, and Mismanagement
🚨 Gross Mismanagement: Tran Dissects Hegseth’s Costly Political Deployment
The confrontation between Representative Derek Tran and Secretary of War nominee Pete Hegseth exposed a profound crisis of judgment, accountability, and strategic wisdom within the Department of Defense. Tran, speaking as a veteran, systematically dismantled the administration’s decision to deploy thousands of active-duty Marines and National Guardsmen to Los Angeles to manage a domestic protest, arguing that the move was a political stunt that grossly mismanaged military resources, cost taxpayers a fortune, and violated established constitutional norms.
The Staggering Strategic and Financial Cost
Tran immediately quantified the folly of the deployment, citing a cost of $134 million and the diversion of thousands of combat-ready personnel. His primary critique was strategic: the troops were pulled from regions where genuine, high-stakes national security crises are escalating:
Indo-Pacific: Diverted from missions countering China’s rapid expansion.
Europe: Pulled from NATO support amid growing Russian aggression.
CENTCOM: Diverted from a region so critical that the deployment forced General Krill to cancel his testimony in Congress.
Tran asserted that redirecting these forces from real-world global threats to manage a single, domestic protest area of approximately one square mile in Los Angeles County was gross mismanagement and a profound slap in the face to service members whose lives and critical missions were disrupted for political optics.
Constitutional Evasion and Lack of Civilian Coordination
The exchange revealed Hegseth’s troubling reluctance to commit to fundamental constitutional principles and civilian-military norms.
Constitutional Limits: Tran pressed Hegseth on whether the DoD would follow an order from the President that violates the Constitution. Instead of providing an unequivocal “no,” Hegseth deflected, rejecting the premise of the question entirely by claiming President Trump does not issue unconstitutional orders. This evasion, as Tran noted, is deeply problematic, as civilian control of the military relies absolutely on leaders who affirm, without ambiguity, that illegal orders will not be followed.
Bypassing Local Authorities: The deployment appeared to happen without proper coordination, a procedural and constitutional failure.
Tran repeatedly asked if LAPD Police Chief McDonald or LA Sheriff Luna had requested military help, receiving no direct answer, implying no request was made.
Hegseth dismissed the lack of coordination with the Governor’s office as Governor Newsom merely “grandstanding” and being an “obstruction,” rather than acknowledging the military’s duty to coordinate with civilian leadership before deploying into American cities.
Deploying hundreds of Marines and federalizing 4,000 National Guardsmen to a small area without the request of local law enforcement or the Governor sets a dangerous precedent, reducing the military to a political instrument rather than a disciplined institution that operates through proper chains of command.
Lack of Accountability and Troop Welfare
Tran demanded accountability not just for the strategic blunder, but for the immediate human cost, asking Hegseth for a detailed plan on how the administration would house and feed the hundreds of Marines pulled into this publicity stunt.
Hegseth’s response was a deflection, shifting focus to the dangers faced by ICE officers and using his personal experience in a riot as justification, rather than providing the operational plan requested. This evasion indicated a lack of clear planning for the troops’ welfare, treating the service members as disposable assets in a political theater rather than as valued personnel with careers and families disrupted by a non-essential mobilization.
Tran’s critique highlights the central danger: when the military’s immense resources and capabilities are misused for domestic political ends, the nation’s security posture abroad is weakened, civil-military norms are shattered, and the fundamental trust of the service members is betrayed.
