Lawmakers pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Thursday to answer questions he has avoided for months, including during the two previous days of hearings on Capitol Hill.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth dedicates his entire opening speech at Fort Bragg today showering Donald Trump with praise after praise.

This marks Trump’s second trip to the state during his second term, following an appearance in western North Carolina back in January.

President Donald Trump takes the stage Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at Fort Bragg to mark the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, a North Carolina native and UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus, also attended.

Trump's visit Tuesday came after he deployed U.S. Marines in response to immigration protests in Los Angeles. Trump claimed that the city would burn to the ground if he had acted. But only a very small section of the city has been subject to violenceWith Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials by his side at Fort Bragg,

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended his decision to order troops to provide security during federal immigration raids in Los Angeles, telling senators on Wednesday it's about "maintaining law and order.

Senate Democrats sought to pick apart the Trump administration’s legal rationale for sending National Guard troops and active-duty Marines into Los Angeles this week in what they called a wildly out-of-proportion response to sometimes violent protests against President Trump’s escalating immigration sweeps.

Several California Democrats questioned Hegseth about the immigration raids that have roiled Los Angeles, the federal commandeering of the state’s National Guard and the deployment of Marines.