The 700 Marines deployed to Los Angeles last month amid protests over increased immigration enforcement are being pulled from the city, the Pentagon confirmed Monday.
“With stability returning to Los Angeles, [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth] has directed the redeployment of the 700 Marines whose presence sent a clear message: lawlessness will not be tolerated,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to The Hill’s sister outlet NewsNation.
Parnell claimed the Marines’ “unmistakable presence” in the city was “instrumental in restoring order and upholding the rule of law,” even as few of the service members remained in public view following the initial show of force in June.
The Trump administration continues to scale back its military deployment in Los Angeles after President Trump ordered some 4,100 California National Guard troops and later the 700 Marines to the city to quell protests of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The move was heavily criticized by California state officials for bypassing the consent of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who accused Trump of inflaming tensions with deployments he said were unnecessary.
After protests largely died down across the city, service members found themselves with little to do, and last week Hegseth ordered half of some 4,000 remaining Guard members to return home. That leaves 2,000 in Los Angeles to continue with their role of protecting ICE agents as they conducted raids.
Another 150 Guardsmen had earlier been allowed to leave the city to help fight wildfires in California.
Newsom has continued to push for all deployed service members to leave the city, saying Trump has used them as “political pawns.”
Parnell did not say when the Marines would depart the city, but a defense official told The Washington Post they are set to return to the Twentynine Palms Base in the coming days.
In a video posted to X on Monday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) celebrated the Marines’ departure, calling their initial deployment “unnecessary.”
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.
Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) on Monday called a Trump administration policy barring transgender people from serving openly in the military “appalling” and a wedge meant “to divide and distract” Americans. “Earlier this month, I joined my neighbors across Delaware in celebrating the freedoms that define our nation, freedoms made possible by those who have worn the uniform,” McBride said in a floor speech on Monday. …
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s tenure has seen a series of high-profile staff departures, leaving the Pentagon head without a chief of staff and other key advisers. Hegseth’s inner circle saw another shake-up Saturday with the departure of senior adviser Justin Fulcher. Fulcher said in a statement to NewsNation that he had only planned to work six months in government. The exit came three months after …
A passenger jet made a hard turn midair Friday to avoid a collision with a B-52 bomber, according to the pilot and the Air Force. SkyWest Flight 3788, operating as Delta Connection from Minneapolis, landed safely in Minot, N.D., after the pilot “performed a go-around when another aircraft became visible in their flight path,” a SkyWest spokesperson told The Hill. SkyWest is investigating the incident, the spokesperson added. …
Hunter Biden took aim at President Trump and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele in an interview, calling both of them dictators. The remarks were part of a lengthy interview in which former President Biden’s son made a number of colorful remarks about Democrats and Republicans alike. In the …
Upcoming things we’re watching in and around the defense world:
The Senate Armed Services Committeewill consider the nominations of Vice Navy Adm. Frank Bradley, to be commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, and Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson to be head of U.S. Africa Command, at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committeewill consider the nomination of Jason Evans to be undersecretary of State for management tomorrow at 10 a.m.
A House Homeland Security subcommittee will hold a hearing on “The Evolution of Cyber Threats to Critical Infrastructure,” at 10 a.m. tomorrow.
The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studieswill discuss the challenges of integrating space capabilities across Europe and Africa at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow.
The Foundation for Defense of Democracieswill have a conversation on “Breaking China’s Chokehold: Securing America’s Advanced Battery Supply Chains,” at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.
What We’re Reading
News we’ve flagged from other outlets:
Air Force probing why passenger jet had to make ‘aggressive maneuver’ to avoid B-52 bomber (Military.com)
Public record contradicts US spy chief’s Russia-gate ‘conspiracy’ accusations (Defense One)
