US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine

WASHINGTON ― Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth testified in Congress on Tuesday that he did not know what legal authority his boss was using to deploy troops to suppress protests in Los Angeles against deportation raids, but he was certain President Donald Trump had it.

“What’s the justification for the military for civilian law enforcement purposes in LA?” California Democratic Representative Peter Aguilar asked. “Why are you sending war fighters to cities to interact with civilians?”

He then asked Hegseth which of the three reasons listed in the law that permits US troops to deploy domestically Trump was citing.

Federal law says a president can federalize a state’s National Guard units if the country is invaded, if there is a “rebellion or........

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