‘More Guts And Balls Than You’: Democrat Throws Down With Hegseth on Defying a Trump Order to Shoot Protestors
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) sparred with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday in a heated hearing exchange over whether or not he would follow orders to direct the military to harm Americans.
Slotkin began her questioning by asking about the active-duty Marines deployed to Los Angeles, “Do they have the ability, the uniformed military, to arrest and detain protesters currently today?”
Hegseth fumbled, “Um, I…” as Slotkin demanded, “It’s a yes or no thing, the authority.”
“I sort of, it’s sort of amusing the extent to which the speculation is out there. These troops are given very clear orders–” Hegseth replied as Slotkin demanded:
Then what is the order? Then list it out for us. Be a man. List it out. Did you authorize them to detain or arrest? That is a fundamental issue of democracy. I’m not trying to be a snot here. I’m just trying to get the actual, did you authorize them to do that?
Hegseth replied, “All of these orders and what they’re sent there to do are public.”
Slotkin hit back, “Okay, so say it. So say it, yes or no.”
Hegseth replied, “I’d like to.”
“Please, yes or no,” pressed Slotkin.
Hegseth finally responded, “As I’ve said time and time again through interruption, they’re there to protect law enforcement. Do they have the ability to arrest? ICE officers who are trying to do their job deporting illegals who were allowed to in by the previous administration.”
Slotkin pressed, “So they cannot arrest and detain citizens of the United States, the uniformed military.”
Hegseth added, “As we’ve stated, if necessary, in their own self-defense, they could temporarily detain and hand over to ICE, but there’s no arresting going on. And you know this better than if you’re trying to play political games, there’s no arrest of U.S. personnel.”
Slotkin pushed, “Have you authorized the U.S. military to use cyber tools of the U.S. military against members of the protest? Have you authorized U.S. military cyber tools to investigate people participating in these protests? Yes or no.”
Hegseth responded, “Certainly in no way that I’d be aware of.”
Slotkin replied, “OK, that’s good. I love that answer. That’s great. Have you given the order for to be able to shoot at unarmed protesters in any way? I’m just asking the question. Don’t laugh. Like, the whole country. And by the way, my colleagues across the aisle—”
Hegseth cut in angrily, “What is that based on? What evidence–”
Slotkin cut him off to clarify, “It is based on Donald Trump giving that order to your predecessor, to a Republican Secretary of Defense, who I give a lot of credit to because he didn’t accept the order. He had more guts and balls than you because he said, I’m not going to send in the uniformed military to do something that I know in my gut isn’t right. He was asked to shoot at their legs. He wrote that in his book. That’s not hearsay. So your pooh-poohing of this just shows you don’t understand who we are as a country, who we are!”
She continued as Hegseth protested, “And all of my colleagues across the aisle, especially the ones that served, should want an apolitical military and not want citizens to be scared of their own military. I love the military. [Which] I served alongside my whole life. So I’m worried about you tainting it. Have you given the order, have you given the order that they can use lethal force against– I want the answer to be no. Please tell me it’s no. Have you given the order?”
Hegseth hit back, “Senator, I’d be careful what you read in books and believing it, except for the Bible.”
“Oh, my God,” replied a frustrated Slotkin, “So your former predecessor. I guess that’s not enough for you.”
Watch above via C-SPAN.
