Elissa Slotkin Stunned By Pete Hegseth Asking If He's Given Military The Order To Use Lethal Force On Protesters

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At today's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) had a tough confrontation with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

Transcript

00:00Senator Slotkin. Thank you, Chairman. Mr. Secretary, I said in your hearing, when you

00:08had your confirmation hearing, that my biggest concern with you at the helm was

00:13the potential use of the military in ways that contradict the Constitution or

00:17that taint what I hope we all want, which is an apolitical military. And when I

00:23asked you about whether you would accept an order that was actually given to

00:29your predecessor, Secretary Esper, Trump SecDef, to deploy active duty troops

00:36against unarmed protesters and to, in Secretary Esper's words, shoot at them,

00:41shoot at their legs, you said this was all theoretical. Here we are a few months

00:46later, you've deployed 4,700 troops to Los Angeles and against the wishes of the

00:52governor. And my colleague across the aisle was right, it is the first time

00:55since 1965, that we have deployed guard troops without the permission of the

01:00governor. In all the instances he laid out, the president had sent in the

01:06military to protect protesters, not against the protesters. So you may dismiss

01:11it, but I feel like this is a fundamental issue of American democracy. If you love

01:16your country and you want an apolitical military, then it should be the last

01:20resort, not the first resort in our country to use them. So to get to the

01:25non-theoretical, have you authorized the uniformed military to detain or arrest

01:31protesters in Los Angeles? Senator, I would just start by saying you're not a

01:38protester if you're throwing concrete at law enforcement officers. 100%. Arrest those people, throw them in the jail, 100%.

01:43But what you're doing is something different. Everyone knows this is a

01:46political decision, right? So we don't trust that you're using the best interests

01:51of the military, certainly, and of democracy on top of that. So have you given

01:56the order? That's all I want to know. It's not theoretical. For the US military,

02:00military, not law enforcement, they can arrest all day long, that's the job. Do

02:04they have the ability, the uniformed military, to arrest and detain protesters

02:08currently today? It's a yes or no thing, authority. It's sort of amusing the extent to which the

02:16speculation is out there. These troops are given very clear orders. And what is the

02:21order? Then list it out for us. Be a man, list it out. Did you authorize them to detain or arrest?

02:27That is a fundamental issue of democracy. I'm not trying to be a snot here. I'm just

02:31trying to get the actual, did you authorize them to do that? All of these

02:35orders and what they're sent there to do are public. They are there to- So say it. So say it.

02:40Yes or no? I'd like to. Please. Yes or no. As I've said time and time again through

02:46interruption, they're there to protect law enforcement, ICE officers, who are trying to do

02:52their job deporting illegals who were allowed in by the previous administration. So they cannot

02:56arrest and detain citizens of the United States, the uniformed military. As we've stated, if necessary,

03:02in their own self-defense, they could temporarily detain and hand over to ICE. But there's no arresting

03:08going on. And you know this better than if you're trying to play political games.

03:11Have you authorized the US military to use cyber tools of the US military against members of the

03:17protest? Have you authorized US military cyber tools to investigate people participating in

03:24these protests? Yes or no? Certainly in no way that I'd be aware of. Okay. That's good. I love that

03:30answer. That's great. Have you given the order to be able to shoot at unarmed protesters in

03:37any way? I'm just asking the question. Don't laugh. Like the whole country. And by the way,

03:43my colleagues across the aisle- What is that based on? What evidence would you

03:46have that an order like that has ever been given? It is based on Donald Trump giving that order to

03:50your predecessor, to a Republican Secretary of Defense, who I give a lot of credit to because

03:55he didn't accept the order. He had more guts and balls than you because he said, I'm not going to

04:00send in the uniformed military to do something that I know in my gut isn't right. He was asked to

04:05shoot at their legs. He wrote that in his book. That's not hearsay. So you're poo-pooing of this.

04:10It just shows you don't understand who we are as a country, who we are. And all of my colleagues

04:16across the aisle, especially the ones that served, should want an apolitical military and not want

04:21citizens to be scared of their own military. I love the military. I served alongside my whole life.

04:28So I'm worried about you tainting it. Have you given the order? Have you given the order that they can

04:33use lethal force against honor? I want the answer to be no. Please tell me it's no. Have you given

04:38the order? Senator, I'd be careful what you read in books and believing it, except for the Bible.

04:43Oh my God. So your former predecessor, I guess that's not enough for you. Okay. On Iran, I don't

04:50think there's a debate. There's like a catfight going on in your own party about whether to go after

04:54Iran. Have you commissioned any day after planning? So any force protection, any use of ground troops

05:01in Iran, any cost assessments? Because I don't think we doubt what we can do as a country in the

05:06attack. It's the day after with Iraq and Afghanistan that so many of us have learned to be so deeply

05:12concerned about. Have you authorized day after planning? As I've said, we have plans for everything,

05:18Senator. Okay. And I would also reiterate how we began that there will be a classified portion of

05:32this 15 minutes after we adjourn.

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