Watch: Hegseth testifies in House as troops deployed to Los Angeles

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified Tuesday along with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. 

The military leaders were expected to field questions on President Trump’s nearly $1 trillion 2026 budget request. But Democrats are almost certain to grill Hegseth and Caine on the rare and divisive move to deploy National Guard members and Marines to Los Angeles to help quell protests against the Trump administration’s workplace immigration raids. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has engaged in an escalating war of words with Trump and Hegseth, while the state sued the administration Monday over the move to federalize state forces. 

Hegseth has faced multiple scandals during his tenure, including accidentally sharing sensitive war plans with a journalist on Signal and reports of chaos and infighting within his department. 

Watch a replay of the video hearing in the player above.