Overview

• At a Senate Armed Services hearing, Hegseth told Democratic senators that district courts should not set national security policy and that only a Supreme Court ruling could compel him to adjust domestic troop deployments
• He refused to say whether he had explicitly authorized troops to arrest or detain protesters in Los Angeles, insisting only that they could “temporarily detain” individuals in self-defense and hand them over to ICE without making arrests
• Senators pressed him on the possibility of using lethal force against unarmed demonstrators, and he repeatedly rejected the premise of unlawful orders while declining to answer definitively
• Hegseth confirmed that the Pentagon is readying military options for President Trump on potential strikes against Iran but would not specify any targets or timelines for action
• Republicans defended his early tenure by citing improved recruitment and morale, even as Democrats criticized his handling of domestic deployments, his deference to presidential directives over judicial checks and his focus on dismantling diversity and equity programs