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Calif. Dem Breaks Decorum, Hollers At SECDEF Hegseth During Hearing
Charlie Kirk Staff
06/12/2025
A California Democrat lashed out at Pete Hegseth on Thursday during a House hearing, calling him an “embarrassment” to the country and telling him to “get the hell out” of the Department of Defense after Hegseth dismissed one of his questions as “silly.”
The outburst from Rep. Salud Carbajal came during a tense House Armed Services Committee session reviewing the Department of Defense’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request. The exchange prompted an immediate call for decorum from committee leadership.
Tensions escalated as Carbajal pressed Hegseth with a series of yes-or-no questions, starting with the deployment of the National Guard and U.S. Marines in Los Angeles to respond to unrest sparked by anti-ICE protests.
“Let’s call it for what it is. It’s political theater. Hegseth, are the Marines in Los Angeles ordered to protect property by any means necessary?” Carbajal asked him.
“Sir, I would say the ICE officers and police officers being attacked is not political theater,” he responded, before Carbajal cut him off and said, “Just yes or no?”
“The National Guard and Marines have the full authority to protect federal ICE agents,” Hegseth continued.
“Yes or no? Can you just say yes or no? This isn’t Fox anymore. Just yes or no,” Carbajal said.
At one point, Carbajal told Hegseth, “Kindergartners can give me a yes or no,” and asked him, “Do you think political allegiance to Trump is a requirement for serving our nation, either in uniform or as a civilian in the department?”
“Congressman, you know what a silly question that is,” Hegseth responded.
“You know what? I’m not going to waste my time anymore. You’re not worthy of my attention or my questions. You’re an embarrassment to this country. You’re unfit to lead. And there’s been bipartisan members of Congress that have called for your resignation. You should just get the hell out and let somebody competently lead this department,” Carbajal concluded.
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His shocking display of disrespect was called out by a Republican member of the panel who asked the chairman whether “decorum” was still a necessity for the chamber.
In his opening statement, Hegseth said “Under President Trump’s leadership, this budget puts America first and gives our warriors what they need. The $961 billion budget request — more than 1 trillion in total for national security — ends four years of chronic underinvestment in our military.”
“We are restoring the warrior ethos. President Trump charged me to focus relentlessly on war fighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards and readiness. And that is exactly what we’ve done since day one. We are refocusing on what is truly important, which is war fighting and our warriors, sweeping away distractions and bureaucracy. We are setting standards that are high, equal and unwavering,” Hegseth continued.
“DEI is dead. We replaced it with a colorblind, gender-neutral, merit-based approach. Our forces are responding incredibly to these changes. Because of President Trump and his America First priorities, recruitment and retention under this administration are higher than they’ve been in decades. Historic numbers of young Americans are putting on the uniform and raising their right hand because they believe in the leadership they see,” he added.
