With left-wing anarchists rioting against immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, it was a given that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's trip to Capitol Hill would be a contentious one. With news of a small deployment of Marines being sent to help restore law and order in California after days of violence, Democrats were primed to throw a fit, and that's exactly what happened. 

Hegseth was ready to respond, though, and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) made the perfect foil. Things eventually got so bad that she abruptly ended her questioning. 

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🔥HOLY SMOKES—@SecDef Pete Hegseth just dropped the HAMMER on on Democrat Betty McCollum!

MCCOLLUM: "We're both from Minnesota. I was in the Twin Cities during the riots that followed the murder of George Floyd. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets for days...At… pic.twitter.com/sbuKUE8xgr

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 10, 2025

MCCOLLUM: "We're both from Minnesota. I was in the Twin Cities during the riots that followed the murder of George Floyd. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets for days. Governor Walz made the decision to call up the Minnesota National Guard. At no point did we need, the citizens of Minnesota request that the Marines be deployed. 

Our state and local law enforcement, along with our National Guard, who have worked on crowd control, they were more than enough, they were more than capable of handling this situation. History has proven that law enforcement and the National Guard are more than capable of handling situations of more volatile than what happened this weekend. We all see the continuous loops, but this looks nothing like the George Floyd protests or the Rodney King riots that happened in 1992. Mr. Secretary, this is a deeply unfair position to put our Marines in. Their service should be honored. It should not be exploited. 

Let me stop there. First of all, what exactly is the question there? Remember, this is supposed to be a hearing where Hegseth is questioned on relevant issues. Instead, McCollum reads a speech (badly) from her notes and then suggests Marines are being exploited by being used to protect federal property, in this case, an ICE detention facility. 

I'd also highly disagree that this "looks nothing" like the George Floyd riots. Are entire city blocks being burned down? No, but it looks something like the George Floyd riots, with cars burning and law enforcement being assaulted. Further, to claim that state and local law enforcement were "more than enough" during the George Floyd riots seems to be less than truthful, given the city was in violent anarchy for days on end, which is where Hegseth goes with his response. 

HEGSETH: "You are right. We are both originally from Minnesota. Which is why I recall 2020 quite well, when Governor Walz abandoned a police precinct and allowed it to be burned to the ground

MCCOLLUM: Sir, sir! Sir, you're...

HEGSETH: And also allowed five days of chaos to occur inside the streets of Minneapolis. 

I love the immediate reflex to try to interrupt Hegseth when he starts speaking inconvenient truths. Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) did not have the situation under control as McCollum claims. Instead, he let rioters burn a police precinct to the ground and didn't call in the National Guard until it was far too late. As Hegseth notes, the chaos lasted five days. 

Now, watch as McCollum starts flailing. 

FULL VIDEO: She was so flustered that she literally ended her questioning! pic.twitter.com/bi1FcMXCNf

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 10, 2025

HEGSETH: The police precinct, mam, was abandoned and burned to the ground, and because of that, the National Guard was, eventually, far too late, mobilized. And President Trump recognizes a situation like that, improperly handled by a governor, like it was by Gov. Walz, if it gets out of control is a bad situation for the citizens of any location. 

So in Los Angeles, we believe that ICE, which is a federal law enforcement agency, has the right to safely conduct operations in any state and any jurisdiction in the country, especially after 21 million illegals have crossed our border under the previous administration. ICE ought be able to do its job, whether it's Minneapolis or Los Angeles.

MCCOLLUM: Mr. Chairman. I have limited time. I asked a budget question. Could the Secretary please address the budget?

You have to love it. When McCollum doesn't get the answer she wants, she pretends that she only asked Hegseth a budget question and that he's filibustering when her "question" was all about the Los Angeles riots and suggesting Marines are being mistreated by being deployed. That's the tell that she knows things are going badly, and Hegseth finishes her off in this next section. 

HEGSETH: You asked about the situation in Los Angeles...

MCCOLLUM: I asked about the budget. I asked about the budget, sir!

HEGSETH: ...and we believe that ICE agents should be allowed to be safe in doing their operations, and we have deployed National Guard and the Marines to protect them in the execution of their duties because we ought be able to enforce immigration law in this country, unlike what Gov. Walz did in 2020.

I've said it before, but the House is full of some of the most unimpressive dolts imaginable. How did these people ever get elected to office? McCollum strikes me as someone with no grasp of the facts, while not even having the ability to effectively lie about them. What the Trump administration is simple. They are ensuring that what happened in 2020 does not happen again. That means making moves early and often to ensure order is restored and deterrence is established. Democrats can cry about it, but I'm confident the majority of Americans support that. 

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