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Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard was an effort to de-escalate tensions.
“I think what President Trump’s trying to do is pretty clear. He’s trying to de-escalate all the tensions that are there,” he said.
He referred to protests in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, saying, “What President Trump is trying to do is say this is not going to take weeks this time” to quell unrest.
Lankford also spoke about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s suggestion that active-duty Marines could be deployed to help respond to the protests. He said in a post on X that “if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert.”
Lankford said that the Los Angeles Police Department was “being overwhelmed.”
He noted that “active duty Marines are not going to be put into local law enforcement,” adding that if Marines were mobilized, they would be in “support roles.”
“As the protests rise, we want to make sure those protests actually don’t spiral out of control,” he said.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said that “it won’t be necessary” to bring in Marines to respond to the protests.
“Bring in the National Guard. That’s what happened here in Wisconsin, and it worked,” Johnson said. “I’m quite sure it’ll work in California.”
A protest erupted in Los Angeles on Saturday, one day after dozens of people were taken into custody as federal immigration authorities raided three locations across Los Angeles.
Shopping carts were strewn across smoke-filled streets occupied by dozens of people. Some appeared to throw things toward the officers. Social media videos verified by NBC News captured protesters and authorities clashing near a Home Depot in the city of Paramount, where some mistakenly believed a federal immigration raid was to take place.
Deputies in full riot gear that included ballistic vests, full helmets and, in some cases, clear shields, pushed forward in unison as some protesters refused to leave the area near the Home Depot. More tear gas was deployed, as well as distraction devices that produce a shocking, explosive sound.
In downtown Los Angeles, one demonstrator was seen hurling an object at a police cruiser, shattering its rear window, after surrounding the vehicle at an intersection.
President Donald Trump signed a memo yesterday federalizing 2,000 California National Guardsmen to address what a White House official called the “lawlessness that has been allowed to fester” in Los Angeles.
Hours later, Trump thanked the National Guard for a “job well done” on social media, but there was still no sign of troops in Los Angeles as protests died down for the night after a day of chaos.
Organizers have already called for a third day of protests in the city for Sunday.
National Guard troops will arrive in L.A. County within the next 24 hours, the Trump administration’s top law enforcement official in Southern California said in an interview with The New York Times early on Sunday.
Bilal “Bill” A. Essayli, the interim U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said the 2,000 troops were needed to quell protests over immigration enforcement that are “out of control.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard is “completely unnecessary,” after Trump said late Saturday that 2,000 members of the guard would be deployed.
“Our city has experienced massive civil unrest before,” she said in an interview with a Fox local affiliate, referring to riots that took place in L.A. in 1992, when more than 50 people were killed and thousands arrested.
“If you want to see it happen again, then you have an extreme presence of troops or law enforcement officers, and that is going to agitate the population. That is not going to solve the problem.”
Bass said she had spoken to the Trump administration and that L.A. was “well equipped to handle” any violence associated with protests.
“2,000 officers, 2,000 in our city, will not be a positive thing and will not be helpful,” she added.
The U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, which includes L.A., said more than a dozen people were detained Saturday following clashes between protesters and federal agents.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said on X that the suspects were apprehended for allegedly impeding federal agents, though details, including exact possible charges, were unavailable.
“We will continue to arrest anyone who interferes with federal law enforcement,” he said.
Tom Homan, Trump’s appointed border czar, defended the president’s decision to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles despite opposition to the move from local leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom — and warned that the governor and L.A.’s mayor could be arrested.
“President Trump is deploying the National Guard because they’re going to support our law enforcement efforts here that will help protect public safety,” Homan told NBC News tonight.
Newsom accused Trump’s administration of using the deployment to create a “spectacle.” Earlier, he called the immigration arrests that triggered protests a “chaotic” attempt to sow chaos and escalate tensions.
Homan dismissed Newsom’s assertion and chided the governor for his criticism of the administration’s effort to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.
“Help us take these criminals off the street. Stop applauding the protesters and support law enforcement,” Homan said. “Gov. Newsom should be on the phone thanking President Trump for making a state safer.”
The Trump administration appointee has previously stated that efforts to impede ICE operations could result in arrest. He said that neither Newsom nor Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, both Democrats whom he accused of creating “a sanctuary for criminals,” were exempt from that prospect.
“I’ll say about anybody,” Homan said. “It’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement from doing their job.”
Homan said “around 150” undocumented immigrants had been detained in the last two days as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers carried out large-scale sweep across the city.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom tonight said the Trump administration’s move to federalize and deploy the state National Guard is being done not because of a legitimate need but due to the desire for a “spectacle.”
Newsom acknowledged the Trump administration’s move to use the California National Guard to protect federal agents and help arrest troublemakers during protests against federal immigration raids, and he urged demonstrators to remain peaceful.
“The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,” the governor said in a statement on X.
“Don’t give them one,” he added. “Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.”
The deployment of the California National Guard might end up being a first step if federal agents are attacked again in Los Angeles, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said tonight, adding that he might deploy U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton in San Diego County to support federal law enforcement.
“They are on high alert,” he said.
Vice President JD Vance blamed “foreign nationals with no legal right to be in the country” for attacks on federal agents. He urged protesters to be peaceful.
“For the far left rioters, some helpful advice; peaceful protest is good,” he said on X. “Rioting and obstructing justice is not.”
Chair of the California Democratic Party Rusty Hicks had his own statement late tonight, saying yesterday’s raids were a “purposeful provocation by the Trump administration.”
He said Trump is trying to “demonize, divide and destroy our communities,” but that the raids and the possible use of military forces on the streets of California will “only strengthen the resolve of Angelenos and those who call the Golden State home.”
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