The top military commander in charge of troops deployed to Los Angeles to respond to protests against immigration raids has asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if 200 of those forces could be returned to wildfire fighting duty, two US officials told the AP on Monday. President Trump ordered the deployment of about 4,000 California National Guard troops and 800 active-duty Marines against the wishes of Gov. Gavin Newsom in early June to respond to a series of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles.
- The federal troops' domestic deployment raised multiple legal questions, including whether the administration would seek to employ emergency powers under the Insurrection Act to empower those forces to conduct law enforcement on US soil, which they're not permitted to do except in rare circumstances. The Marines are primarily assigned to protecting federal buildings, and the Insurrection Act hasn't been used—but in at least one circumstance, Marines have temporarily detained civilians in Los Angeles.