Troops deployed to LA have nowhere to sleep and lack supplies: Newsom
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Protesters and National Guard troops reflected in the sunglasses of a soldier outside a federal building in downtown LA on Monday. Photo: Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times via Getty
Viral images of National Guard troops sleeping side by side on floors in Los Angeles — along with a new estimate from the Pentagon that sending them there will cost $134 million — fueled criticism Tuesday that President Trump's deployments were haphazard and unnecessary.
Why it matters: Gov. Gavin Newsom is leading the charge, accusing Trump of dispatching 4,000 National Guard troops to LA "without fuel, food, water or a place to sleep."
- Newsom also claimed only around 300 had been deployed as of Monday evening, with the rest "sitting, unused, in federal buildings without orders."
- He raised further alarm when the Pentagon announced 700 active duty Marines were also heading to LA to respond to the protests.
- The Guards and Marines are both limited to protecting federal buildings and personnel, though Trump has considered invoking the Insurrection Act to get them into the streets.
Driving the news: The San Francisco Chronicle published two images Monday evening showing Guard troops sleeping on the floors of what it described as "basements or loading docks," packed in tight along with their gear.
- A source told the Chronicle that the first wave of troops arrived without lodging or federal funds for food, water or other supplies, and that it was unclear where the additional troops would stay or how enough portable bathrooms would be supplied.
- Newsom and others shared those images as evidence this was all an ill-planned political stunt.
The other side: Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell accused Newsom on X of "using the troops as political props," adding: "Oh by the way, they wouldn't even have to be there had you just done your job. Also, when you're a Solider you're prepared to sleep in worse places than this."
- A Pentagon spokesperson told Axios the soldiers were resting "as they were not currently on mission and due to the fluid security situation it was deemed too dangerous for them to travel to better accommodations."
- "The Soldiers have ready access to food and water as needed," the spokesperson added.
State of play: Testimony from acting Pentagon comptroller Bryn MacDonnell on Tuesday about the estimated cost of the operation only heightened the criticism.
- Testifying alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, MacDonnell said it would cost around $134 million to dispatch and supply the Guard troops and Marines.
- Hegseth defended the operation and suggested there was more to come: "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."
What to watch: Newsom has sued Trump, Hegseth and the Pentagon seeking to reverse the deployment orders.
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