June 10 (UPI) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sparred with Democrats on Capitol Hill on Tuesday over the decision to send 5,000 Marines and National Guard troops into Los Angeles as some protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids turned violent.

Hegseth, a former National Guardsman, testified before the House Appropriations subcommittee, where he defended the decision to deploy troops and the role of ICE.

“We ought to be able to enforce immigration law in this country,” Hegseth testified. “I think we’re entering another phase, especially under President Trump with his focus on the homeland, where the National Guard and Reserves become a critical component of how we secure that homeland.”

“In Los Angeles, we believed ICE had the right to safely conduct operations,” Hegseth added. “We deployed National Guard and the Marines to protect them.”

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., asked Hegseth why he was sending “war fighters to cities to interact with civilians?”

“ICE agents need to be able to do their job,” Hegseth responded. “They are being attacked for doing their job, which is deporting illegal criminals. The governor of California has failed to protect his people, along with the mayor of Los Angeles. And so President Trump has said he will protect our agents and our Guard and Marines.”

Aguilar fired back against Hegseth’s answer and said, “The law also says Mr. Secretary that the orders for these purposes shall be issued through governors of the states.”

Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota also sparred with Hegseth about the cost of deploying the National Guard and Marines, and whether their absence would impact trainings in other parts of the country.

The two talked over each other repeatedly as Hegseth referenced the George Floyd murder protests and accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz of “abandoning a police precinct” in 2020.

“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,” said McCollum. “At no point did we need Marines to be deployed. This is a deeply unfair position to put our Marines in. Their service should be honored. It should not be exploited.”

“You are right,” Hegseth testified. “We are both originally from Minnesota. Which is why I recall 2020 quite well, when Gov. Walz abandoned a police precinct and allowed it to be burned to the ground — and also allowed five days of chaos to occur inside the streets of Minneapolis.”

“We believe that ICE has the right to safely conduct operations in any state and any jurisdiction in the country,” Hegseth continued. “Especially after 21 million illegals have crossed our border under the previous administration. ICE should be able to do their job.”

“Chairman, I have limited time,” McCollum declared. “I asked a budget question.”

After repeated questioning about the budget by several committee members, Hegseth finally gave an answer.

“We have a 13% increase in our defense budget and we will have the capability to cover contingencies, which is something the National Guard and the Marines plan for. So we have the funding to cover contingencies, especially ones as important as maintaining law and order in a major American city,” Hegseth testified.

During the hearing, Hegseth was also questioned about spending cuts to foreign aid programs, including USAID, and staffing cuts at the Defense Department, to which he argued the administration is reducing any program considered “wasteful and duplicitous.”