Editor’s note: This week, we’re reprinting some of our best stories from the past year. In this piece, originally published in November, Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan hits the road for some good old fashioned football with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
***
BOSTON—On a brisk November morning, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shipped up to Boston with two goals: making his forgotten Merchant Mariners remember who they were, and bringing home the Secretaries’ Cup.
That’s the trophy that goes to the victor of an annual college football game that pits the Merchant Mariners against the Coast Guard, a smaller but beloved version of the annual Army-Navy game. Fans, alumni, and family of the “Kings Point” mariners and the Coast Guard travel from all over the country to support their teams.
This year, Duffy and Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem — whose agency includes the Coast Guard — joined their teams for the final showdown of the season. They had a bet: whoever lost would host the other team at their agency back in the nation’s capital. It was a rare non-political event attended for the two high-profile politicians, who were there to cheer on their teams and talk trash to each other.
“Our Merchant Marine Academy, they’re excited to play on a on a big venue like this,” Duffy told The Daily Wire ahead of the game. “And sometimes they don’t get the attention that they deserve … they’re critical as part of America’s infrastructure and making sure that we can defend ourselves.”
“The Merchant Marine Academy, our young men and women go out and make sure we have the capability of supporting the military in doing sea lifts, making sure products are moving, supplies are moving, and our midshipmen provide those services,” he explained.
The Merchant Marine Academy is housed under the Department of Transportation, which formerly also housed the United States Coast Guard. The “Coasties” were moved under Homeland Security’s umbrella in 2003. But the reshuffling did nothing to the football rivalry, which dates back to 1949.
The Daily Wire spent the day with Duffy as he wandered around Fenway Park, even down to the locker room, where he aggressively hyped up the mariners before they headed out onto the field. “You guys have more heart, more grit,” Duffy told the animated mariners. “So please go kick some Coast Guard ass today!”
<div class="fluid-width-video-wrapper"><iframe title="The Military Game at Fenway Park You’ve Never Heard Of" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dK1sGZB3qwM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe></div>
Many of the midshipmen who were at the game were delighted to chat with the transportation secretary, who spent a big chunk of his time hanging out in the stands with them.
“Oh, yeah,” Edward Lippert told The Daily Wire, asked if he was a Duffy fan. “He’s the man. He’s the man.”
“I love that guy,” added Christian Meyers. “I can’t wait to see him.”
The two young men, who are both seniors at the academy, responded emphatically when asked what it means to them to be mariners. Meyers will go into Navy aviation after graduation, and Lippert will be sailing on his third mates license in the maritime industry.
“Oh man, it’s everything,” said Lippert. “I mean, it’s how cargo moves around the world right? World needs mariners.”
“Pretty much everyone here will graduate with a license in the US Coast Guard that’s capable of operating any boat or vessel in the American fleet,” he added.”We move cargo, whatever it be, cars, containers from point A to point B. We’re what puts food on your shelves.”
The second mariner conceded that without their work, American lives would be significantly impacted.
“It’d be really hard to live,” he said, asked where Americans would be without them. “Costs would be insane. I mean, there would be no food in supermarkets. There’d be nothing. There’d be nothing without us.”
Duffy feels that the Merchant Marine Academy has been not only forgotten but downright neglected by other secretaries of transportation, including his predecessor, Pete Buttigieg (“Boot-edge-edge,” as Duffy chuckled aside to his kids).
“They’ve been shunned,” Duffy said of the mariners. “They haven’t had the investments. They have one of the most beautiful campuses, but no one has  reinvigorated it. No one has invested in it.”
When Duffy first arrived in Kings Point, New York to visit the Merchant Marine Academy, he found out that these midshipmen had gone four months without hot water. A green energy effort brought in an electric boiler that didn’t work and ultimately led to the midshipmen going without water for months, he said with a shake of his head.
“So they’re taking cold showers. They have mold in in their dorms. Their dishwasher broke. They didn’t have regular plates and silverware. They had plastic plates, plastic silverware.”
When he brought it up to the midshipmen, he expected that they would be angry. Instead, he joked, they beat their chests and were proud of their tough situation: “I said, ‘No hot water?’ And they’re like, ‘ROAR!! You’re damn right we did! No hot water!&#8217;”
He also found out that President Joe Biden’s administration removed a mural of Jesus Christ on the water from the academy and put it in the basement.
“Shameful,” said Duffy. “It’s been in the academy for over 50 years!”
“I said that’s it, we are going to we are going to resurrect the painting of Jesus on the water out of the basement and put him back in his place of prominence. And when I mentioned it to the to the midshipman, they lost their minds.”
He doesn’t have to “bring faith back to the academy,” he said, questioned about the move: “These are faithful young men and women.”
One way that he’s boosting morale is by telling the mariners that the “black sheep” is their mascot, leaning into the idea that they are the “black sheep” of the academies and need to fight to reclaim their identity. Duffy himself was sporting a Merchant Mariners sweatshirt with the black sheep on it, as were his daughters and son who attended the game with him.
“I just I think it’s wrong that we have a great American academy with great young American men and women, that we don’t respect them,” Duffy shared. “They are the black sheep of all the academies, right? And sometimes when you feel a little beaten, you’re an underdog, you come back, have a little more heart, a little more energy, a little more fight.”
“You can see we have our black sheep shirts on,” he added. “And we embrace it and we still kick ass. We still have grit. We still crush it like what’s going to happen today on the football field here at Fenway.”
The mariners did indeed crush the Coast Guard that day in the very final seconds of the game. Duffy joined them on the field, holding the trophy high above his head as he cheered, exuberantly celebrating with the young men — and even jokingly trash talking Noem, who didn’t come down to the field for the Merchant Marine Academy victory.
“Well done man,” he told the mariners as they left the field, shaking their hands and slapping them on the back. “Thank you for fighting! Well done.”

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Best Of 2025: Sean Duffy Puts The Merchant Mariners On The Map — Starting With A Football Win.

College Football

Marines

Sean Duffy

&#8220;Extreme gratitude” has sustained retired Marine and Purple Heart recipient Gabe Martinez after he lost both of his legs to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan 15 years ago.
Martinez spoke to Morning Wire about his injury, recovery, life after the military, and the Semper Fi &amp; America’s Fund that helps wounded veterans with severe injuries and disabilities.
Martinez was in seventh grade on September 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked commercial planes and flew them into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, while a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. The tragedy spurred Martinez to enlist in the Marines in 2006, immediately after graduating high school.
In 2008, Martinez found himself on his first deployment with a Marine Expeditionary Unit assigned to Navy ships across the Middle East. Two years later, in 2010, he was on his second deployment, this time in Afghanistan.
“Thanksgiving 2010 is obviously a day I&#8217;ll never forget. I remember everything about it,” said Martinez. “I was in for about three years at that point. We were going to the Helmand province of Afghanistan. … We knew it was going to be a tougher deployment. That was a real brutal year for some of the Marine Corps units out there.”
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About an hour into the convoy near a Taliban stronghold, an IED exploded underneath one of the vehicles in Martinez’s line. Martinez’s immediate job was to hunt for secondary explosives hidden in the surrounding dirt. The wreckage of the destroyed vehicle made his metal detector worthless. He was forced to dig in the dirt with his hands, carefully sweeping for more potentially buried explosives. 
Martinez had just finished investigating one spot and was moving to another area where the dirt appeared to have been recently disturbed when another IED — a 25-pound bomb in a glass jar — exploded beneath him.
“I remember getting tossed up into the air, and then I landed in this crater that the IED had created,” he recalled. “I remember everything was red — like all my vision was red — and I remember thinking, like, something really got rattled loose up, you know, up in my head. And what I realized is that it was blood going down from my skull into my eyes. The piece of shrapnel had gone through my helmet and into my forehead.”
“I remember wiping that free and looking down and seeing that my legs were, they were still there. One was hanging off to the side, one was on my chest,” Martinez said.
A whirlwind 48 hours followed. Martinez and two more Marines, one concussed from the first IED and the other with his legs also blown off from a bomb just after Martinez, were loaded together on a helicopter and rushed to the nearest medical facility capable of performing surgery. Within an hour of his injury, Martinez, still conscious, was able to call his wife using a satellite phone on the base.
Doctors at the facility finished amputating what was left of Martinez’s legs. From there, he was flown back to the United States and arrived in Bethesda, Maryland, less than two days after stepping on an IED in Afghanistan.
After finding out that he would survive, Martinez’s thoughts shifted to how he would live with his injury. But despite the difficulties, he was mostly grateful to be alive.
“I didn&#8217;t really know what life looked like for me, especially now having no legs — lost both my legs at 22 years old, I was recently married — and so life was very uncertain at that point. In my mind, I figured that was pretty much it. I didn&#8217;t have legs, so I was figuratively and literally half the man I once was,” said Martinez.
“The day I woke up in the hospital in the United States was when I met the Semper Fi &amp; America&#8217;s Fund, and they were able to answer a lot of that for me, you know, because fortunately-slash-unfortunately, they had a lot of experience with my situation,” he continued. “My mentality then is similar to how it is now — and it&#8217;s gratitude despite ups and downs. It&#8217;s extreme gratitude.”
The Semper Fi &amp; America’s Fund <a href="https://thefund.org/hero-stories/marine-sergeant-gabe-martinez-why-i-became-a-marine/">provided</a> Martinez opportunities to push himself and conquer new challenges despite his disability.
“My wife still to this day says I was like a ‘yes man.’ Like, I said yes to anything and everything, whether it was rock climbing, skiing–things I&#8217;ve never even done before, I found myself doing it. And it was great for my recovery because it showed me what I could do. And really, there weren&#8217;t any limits to what I could or couldn&#8217;t do,” he said.
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The toughest challenge for Martinez was leaving the military and losing the community that had sustained him throughout the early days of his injury. Martinez again found himself relying on the Semper Fi &amp; America’s Fund. The fund assigned Martinez a case manager who checked in on his progress and connected him with other veterans in similar situations.
In the military, the anniversary of wounds like Martinez’s is called “Alive Days,” and so Martinez’s Alive Day comes around Thanksgiving every year. (He suffered his injury the day after Thanksgiving in Afghanistan, which happened to be the day of Thanksgiving in the United States). 
Having his Alive Day fall on Thanksgiving has reinforced the gratitude he felt early on at just surviving and being able to return home.
“For me and my Alive Day being either on or around Thanksgiving was one of those blessings in disguise because it brings me back to that day 15 years ago … and like I said, gives me that reset perspective,” he said. “I&#8217;m able to, you know, look around and see my family, my kids, you know, my wife and family — kind of how my future has evolved from 15 years ago.&#8221;
“It gives me that perspective of even though every day is not perfect, even though many days I wish, you know, I had my legs or this didn&#8217;t happen to me, it gives me so much to be thankful for. And then being on Thanksgiving just kind of amplifies that while I&#8217;m surrounded by family and friends and all the chaos that ensues with that,” he continued. “I mean, it&#8217;s a huge blessing, and it&#8217;s a great reset for me to kind of have that perspective.”

Purple heart

Gabe Martinez Lost His Legs In Afghanistan 15 Years Ago. Here’s What Thanksgiving Means To Him.

Afghanistan

Thanksgiving

Veterans

On Independence Day, we celebrate.
On Memorial Day, we remember.
On Veterans Day, we honor. We honor all who, at one point in time, signed a blank check to the United States of America and said, “I’m in.”
But in for what? And for how long?
What I signed up for was to be part of the solution, to be a defender for my country. To be part of something bigger than myself and to sacrifice my “right now” for the future of my nation.
That oath wasn’t about a uniform. It was about a calling. Service doesn’t end when the deployment does; it simply takes new form.
When I first took my oath, I thought it was a promise limited by time, a contract that ended when my active duty did. But years later, I’ve realized that my oath was never meant to expire. It was a declaration of lifelong responsibility, a commitment to something far greater than myself: to stand ready, in whatever way the moment demands.
<div id="attachment_998785" style="width: 812px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-998785" class="size-full wp-image-998785" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Jimmy-graham.jpg" alt="" width="802" height="564" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Jimmy-graham.jpg 802w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Jimmy-graham-300x211.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Jimmy-graham-768x540.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 802px) 100vw, 802px" />Credit: Jimmy Graham</div>
I may no longer be on active duty status, defending freedom on distant shores, but I’ve never been more active. Everything I do is a continuation of service — to this nation that I dearly love and to the people in it. The war today is against apathy, division, and moral decay. It’s the fight for our children’s minds in classrooms that have forgotten the truth. It’s the struggle for integrity in leadership, for unity in our communities, and for courage in a culture that rewards comfort. It’s a war for meaning in a generation that’s been told purpose is optional.
My battleground has shifted from standing on the frontlines of combat to standing in the frontlines of my home and community.
True service evolves. It becomes mentorship, leadership, and example-setting. It means preparing others to stand firm when life demands strength. It means showing young men and women that service isn’t just about defending borders; it’s about defending principles.
Many veterans understand this instinctively. We can’t turn it off, nor should we. The discipline, humility, and vigilance we learned in uniform are needed now more than ever right in our own city. Our duty didn’t end when we hung up our gear; it was simply reassigned.
But, we can’t expect our military or our first responders to shoulder all of the responsibility for keeping our nation safe and strong. If the last few years have shown us anything, it’s that danger doesn’t always knock first, it shows up unexpectedly in our schools, our churches, and our neighborhoods. We can’t outsource courage, so we must all be ready to fight and defend.
That relentless commitment to excellence and readiness is what our nation needs. It’s what we can all learn from the men and women who’ve worn the uniform and adopted a service mindset that transcends battlefields.
<div id="attachment_998787" style="width: 730px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-998787" class="size-large wp-image-998787" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/J-Graham-720x576.jpg" alt="Credit: Jimmy Graham" width="720" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/J-Graham-720x576.jpg 720w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/J-Graham-300x240.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/J-Graham-768x614.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/J-Graham.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" />Credit: Jimmy Graham</div>
So how do we honor veterans this Veterans Day? By doing more than saying, &#8220;thank you.&#8221; By showing our unyielding appreciation for those who fought for this country, but also by recognizing those wearing a new uniform and continuing the fight here at home. The ones leading in their churches, mentoring the next generation, and protecting their communities.
To those who’ve never served, I hope you turn your gratitude into movement. Put on that metaphorical uniform and join the new mission alongside the Vets now serving at home.
To my fellow veterans, thank you for your courageous service. I invite you back into “active duty.” This nation needs your leadership, professionalism, and courage now more than ever. Find a way to better serve your family, your community, and your country once again.
More than a once-a-year &#8220;thank you,&#8221; we need active appreciation. We need proof that the generations to come will carry on our fight for freedom. That the men and women of this great nation will continually defend our land and sacred institutions through service that comes in all shapes and sizes. That is how we can truly honor our veterans.
* * *
Jimmy Graham, CEO of<a href="https://ableshepherd.com/"> Able Shepherd</a>, is a veteran Navy SEAL and former CIA Global Response Staff Protective Officer with over two decades of experience in high-risk environments worldwide. He and his team train civilians, law enforcement, and first responders across the U.S. in armed and unarmed response to active threats to improve community safety and preparedness.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Military Family Reuniting at Miramar in San Diego

Honoring A Veteran Means Doing More Than Saying ‘Thank You’

Honoring A Veteran Means Doing More Than Saying 'Thank You'

Navy SEAL

Soldiers

U.S. Air Force

U.S. Army

U.S. Military

U.S. Navy

Veterans Day

The Pentagon has come out against a new Netflix series aimed at promoting LGBT themes. “Boots,” based on a memoir titled &#8220;The Pink Marine,&#8221; is <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81427990">about</a> a gay “bullied teen” who “impulsively” joins the U.S. Marine Corps and “finds new purpose — and unexpected brotherhood — with his motley team of fellow recruits.”
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson released a statement on the series, saying a person’s sexuality is not relevant in this administration’s effort to strengthen our military.
&#8220;Under President Trump and Secretary [Pete] Hegseth, the U.S. military is getting back to restoring the warrior ethos. Our standards across the board are elite, uniform, and sex neutral because the weight of a rucksack or a human being doesn&#8217;t care if you&#8217;re a man, a woman, gay, or straight,&#8221; a statement given to Entertainment Weekly <a href="https://ew.com/pentagon-slams-netflix-gay-military-drama-boots-11831105">said</a>.
Kingsley confirmed that officials &#8220;will not compromise our standards to satisfy an ideological agenda, unlike Netflix whose leadership consistently produces and feeds woke garbage to their audience and children.&#8221;
Hegseth made waves during a September speech to his top military leaders after sharing new directives for the War Department, including the news that every military branch will ensure that requirements for combat positions return to “the highest male standard.”
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“This job is life or death,” he said at the time, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-are-done-with-that-sht-trump-hegseth-demand-excellence-from-military-brass?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98We+Are+Done+With+That+Sh*t%E2%80%99%3A+Trump%2C+Hegseth+Demand+Excellence+From+Military+Brass">reported</a>. “Standards must be met … it’s common sense and core to who we are and what we do.”
Hegseth also noted that the military would no longer focus on ideology-driven initiatives left over from the Biden years, noting that their department is “done with that s***” and there will be no more “identity months, DEI offices, [and] dudes in dresses.”
“Boots,” which stars Miles Heizer and Vera Farmiga, premiered October 9 and has been ranking in Netflix’s top 10 viewed charts ever since. The series is critical of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” military policy from the 90s that required recruits to keep their sexual identity secret.

Miles Hezier

‘Woke Garbage’: Pentagon Blasts New Netflix Series About Gay Marine

Entertainment

LGBT

Military

Netflix

Pete Hegseth

Social Issues

Television

U.S.

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said on Tuesday that she believes President Donald Trump&#8217;s troop <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-sends-another-2000-national-guard-troops-to-l-a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deployment</a> in response to the violent anti-ICE protests around Los Angeles is worthy of impeachment.
In a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3VMJlLi9nw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press conference</a> on Capitol Hill, a reporter asked whether the descriptors that Democrats have applied to Trump&#8217;s actions — specifically: &#8220;lawlessness, and unconstitutional, and a violation of human rights&#8221; — would &#8220;rise to the level of impeachment&#8221; and whether they are &#8220;impeachable offenses.&#8221;
Clarke responded in the affirmative.
&#8220;Well, you know, I believe it is. I definitely believe it is,&#8221; the influential Democrat said, &#8220;but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.&#8221;
The president invoked the ire of Democrats for sending National Guardsmen and U.S. Marines to Los Angeles amid violent anti-ICE protests, leading to a legal standoff with California Governor Gavin Newsom, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-sues-trump-over-national-guard-deployment-says-president-manufactured-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sued</a> the Trump administration and is trying to <a href="https://x.com/yashar/status/1932506908461838759" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stop</a> the deployment.
&#8220;Look, if we didn’t get involved, right now, Los Angeles would be burning &#8230; Los Angeles right now would be on fire. And we have it in great shape. I am not playing around,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1932477437549425074" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
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When asked about Clarke&#8217;s view on impeachment, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA) indicated his party is not ready to go there.
“I&#8217;ve said before, from this podium, that House Democrats aren’t focused on impeachment today,” Aguilar <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59sURASZvos" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> during another press conference. &#8220;We are focused on holding the president and House Republicans accountable for the policies that attack the basic needs, like health care and food assistance.&#8221;
Some Democrats have tried <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rejected-by-his-own-party-democrat-backs-down-on-forcing-trump-impeachment-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushing impeachment</a> during this session of Congress, accusing Trump of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-democrat-moves-to-impeach-trump-over-dastardly-deeds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;dastardly deeds&#8221;</a> and other alleged offenses, but they have all fizzled out as the Republicans who are largely aligned with the president control the House.
But Aguilar went on to suggest an inquiry could be a consideration in the future — if Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA) leads her party to seize back the House with the midterm elections in 2026.
&#8220;There will be plenty of time, when Suzan DelBene guides us to the majority, for us to exercise oversight where we can ask some very difficult questions [about] the policies that the administration is going currently, but right now that isn&#8217;t our focus,&#8221; Aguilar said.

Rep. Yvette Clarke

Black Caucus Head Wants To Impeach Trump For Sending Troops To Los Angeles

California

Congress

Donald Trump

Impeachment

Los Angeles

National Guard

Protests

Riots

U.S. House of Representatives

The destructive anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles continue – and the state&#8217;s Democratic leaders are doubling down on their support. Democrats accuse Trump of overstepping his authority by using the National Guard to protect California – but America has a long history of “sending in the troops.” And, California taxpayers might be unknowingly funding the L.A. protests. We speak to a woman who says she has the receipts.
It’s Tuesday, June 10, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2>California Leaders Fiddle As L.A. Burns</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-931707" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_20_19.Still001.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_20_19.Still001.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_20_19.Still001-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: Pockets of Los Angeles are still under siege by anti-ICE rioters &#8212; and now the Marines are stepping in.
After a weekend of riots, on Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump deployed hundreds of Marines expected to protect federal personnel and property. They will join the 2,000 National Guardsmen who’ve already been activated. 
The move came as the unrest entered its fourth day. The chaos continued over the last 24 hours with rioters downtown shutting down a highway, setting self-driving autotaxis on fire, and lobbing bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police. In one incident, rioters smashed out the windows at LAPD headquarters. In another, a number of businesses, including a Jordan sneaker store, were broken into and looted. Dozens of arrests have been made, but violent crowds continued to form overnight, vowing to riot until federal agents cease their deportation raids.
Trump has thus far refused to back down. The president said on Truth Social that he would “deal with the violent, instigated riots in California” and that without his deployment of the National Guard, “Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated.”
However, Republicans have accused many California Democrats of offering tacit support to the rioters while blaming President Trump for the violence:
Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on <a href="https://x.com/CAgovernor/status/1931916549490929862">X</a>, “Donald Trump is putting fuel on this fire. Commandeering a state&#8217;s National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” and the governor has announced plans to sue the administration for deploying California’s National Guard without permission. In an interview with <a href="https://x.com/DOGE__news/status/1931911364487876934">MSNBC</a>, Newsom challenged Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, to arrest him. “Come after me. Arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy. I don’t give a damn.”
(For his part, Trump responded Monday by saying, “I would [arrest him] if I were Tom. Gavin likes the publicity.”)
Senator Alex Padilla characterized the protests as <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1932081379082129886">“peaceful” and “passionate”</a>. “The vast majority of protesters and demonstrators are peaceful. … When you come into a community like Los Angeles, the way the Trump administration has, you need to expect to be countered with people who are passionate about defending fundamental rights.”
California Congresswoman Maxine Waters falsely claimed on CNN that there has been “no violence,” and later <a href="https://x.com/Mrgunsngear/status/1931839150145069529">taunted</a> members of the National Guard, saying, “What are you gonna do, shoot some kids? You gonna shoot an elected official? If you shoot me, you better shoot straight. I don’t know why you’re in my city … this is Trump.”
The White House has argued these riots are proving their point — that illegal aliens are wreaking havoc on American cities.
<h2>National Guard Legal Dispute</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-931705" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_22.Still002-2.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_22.Still002-2.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_21_22.Still002-2-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: President Trump dispatched National Guard troops to Los Angeles this weekend despite the protests of local Democrat leaders. While disputes over National Guard deployments are unusual, they aren’t entirely unprecedented.
The federal government is typically barred from deploying military resources for law enforcement purposes in the United States – with one exception, found in the Insurrection Act, which says that the military can be deployed to enforce the law or quell rebellion. Constitutionally, its use relies on Congress’s authority to “provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.”
The last time the National Guard was called on to quell riots was, coincidentally, also in Los Angeles, when President George H. W. Bush called them in to crack down on the Rodney King riots. One big difference between 1992 and today is that Bush had the backing of California’s governor and the mayor of L.A. Trump has neither, and that has been a focus of criticism.
California filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Monday, arguing that Trump&#8217;s mobilization of the National Guard violated constitutional procedure and the state’s sovereignty.
“[Trump’s order] abused the federal government&#8217;s authority and violated the 10th Amendment and federal law,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/1932142229793239207">said</a>. “As a result, I, in partnership with Governor Gavin Newsom, [am] suing President Trump and asking the court to set aside the president&#8217;s unlawful action federalizing the California National Guard.”
Republicans have largely supported the president’s actions and condemned the ongoing unrest.
“I spent 20 years in the military,” Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-TX) told <a href="https://x.com/RepTonyGonzales/status/1931746619201827272">CBS</a> on &#8220;Face The Nation.&#8221; “I fought in two wars. I fought to give people the freedom to protest whatever the hell they want to. But what we&#8217;re seeing in L.A. are not advocates. We&#8217;re seeing anarchists, and the President of the United States should absolutely put down the mob as soon as possible.”
<h2>Activists Create Anti-ICE Infrastructure</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-931703" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_22.Still003-2.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_22.Still003-2.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_22.Still003-2-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: The anti-ICE protests sweeping through the Los Angeles area are being promoted and organized by left-wing activist groups, including a prominent nonprofit that receives tens of millions of taxpayer dollars from California.
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, has been identified as one of the key financial backers of the ongoing anti-ICE protests. <a href="https://x.com/LauraPowellEsq">Laura Powell</a>, civil liberties attorney and founder of Californians for Good Governance, told The Daily Wire that CHIRLA received $34 million from the state government in 2023, primarily from the California Social Services Department.
“There&#8217;s a rapid response network that was set up that is a coalition of various nonprofits, but [CHIRLA] seem[s] to be the central one because it&#8217;s their phone number that&#8217;s used as this hotline,” Powell said. “People on the street can call in to report when ICE is in the area and then they can deploy people to go to that area …and in some cases interfere with the officer&#8217;s work.”
In addition to tens of millions of dollars from the state government, CHIRLA received $450,000 from the Department of Homeland Security with the assistance of L.A. Democratic Mayor Karen Bass.
An investigation by Californians for Good Governance has also uncovered deep ties between CHIRLA and California’s Democratic establishment.
“Mayor Bass of Los Angeles is very connected to them. They&#8217;ve supported her. She&#8217;s bragged about helping them get federal funding in the past,” Powell told The Daily Wire. “They endorsed Kamala Harris, of course, Gavin Newsom, Adam Schiff. … They can&#8217;t directly endorse candidates because they&#8217;re a 501(c)(3), but they have a 501(c)(4) that they use for those candidate endorsements. They also sponsor a lot of legislation at the state level.”

MRN 6.10.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: L.A. Riot Round-Up

Gavin Newsom

Illegal Immigration

Los Angeles County

Maxine Waters

Media

Morning Wire

Politics

Some 700 United States Marines prepared to deploy to Los Angeles on Monday, gearing up to relieve some of the 2,000 National Guardsmen who had been in the city since the early morning hours on Sunday.
Just over one hour after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly announced their mobilization, the U.S. Northern Command shared photos of the Marines who were preparing to go.
&#8220;Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, who were placed in an alert status over the weekend to support #USNORTHCOM mission, prepare to depart for the greater Los Angeles area June 9,&#8221; the caption read. The attached photos showed Marines preparing several tactical vehicles and some training with riot shields ahead of their deployment.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Approximately 700 Marines from Marine Corps Combat Center Twentynine Palms(<a href="https://twitter.com/MCAGCC29Palms?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MCAGCC29Palms</a>), California will seamlessly integrate with the Title 10 forces under Task Force 51 who are protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area
— U.S. Northern Command (@USNorthernCmd) <a href="https://twitter.com/USNorthernCmd/status/1932221572619608483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Approximately 700 Marines from Marine Corps Combat Center Twentynine Palms(@MCAGCC29Palms), California will seamlessly integrate with the Title 10 forces under Task Force 51 who are protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area,&#8221; the follow-up post continued.
Hegseth announced their deployment as rioters continued to direct violent attacks at local law enforcement and federal agents — and destroy public and private property — despite President Donald Trump&#8217;s decision to mobilize the California National Guard.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
&#8220;Due to increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and federal buildings, approximately 700 active-duty U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton are being deployed to Los Angeles to restore order. We have an obligation to defend federal law enforcement officers — even if Gavin Newsom will not,&#8221; Hegseth posted via X.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Due to increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and federal buildings, approximately 700 active-duty U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton are being deployed to Los Angeles to restore order.
We have an obligation to defend federal law enforcement officers &#8211; even if Gavin…
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecDef/status/1932202105361612994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell followed with an update, saying that President Trump had ordered the deployment of another 2,000 California National Guard troops.
&#8220;At the order of the President, the Department of Defense is mobilizing an additional 2,000 California National Guard to be called into federal service to support ICE &amp; to enable federal law-enforcement officers to safely conduct their duties,&#8221; he posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
At the order of the President, the Department of Defense is mobilizing an additional 2,000 California National Guard to be called into federal service to support ICE &amp; to enable federal law-enforcement officers to safely conduct their duties.
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellATSD) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeanParnellATSD/status/1932230434810950021?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
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An Oshkosh M-ATV Mine Resistant Ambush Protected all-terrain vehicle.

PHOTOS: U.S. Marines Prepare To Deploy To Los Angeles

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The Trump administration deployed between 500 and 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles on Monday to assist the National Guard and local law enforcement as anti-ICE riots blew up in part of the city over the weekend.
CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/la-protests-ice-raids-trump-06-09-25#cmbpf2l0s00003b6mldlq5r1h">reported</a> that 500 Marines from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California were mobilized, while ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/la-immigration-protests-live-updates-trump-deploys-2000/?id=122621279&amp;entryId=122667907">reported</a> that 700 Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines at Twentynine Palms, California, were sent into the city.
Just before the Marines&#8217; deployment was reported, Trump told ABC News, &#8220;We’ll see what happens&#8221; when asked about the possibility of sending them to L.A.
&#8220;I mean, I think we have it very well under control,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;I think it would have been a very bad situation. It was heading in the wrong direction. It&#8217;s now heading in the right direction.&#8221;
On Saturday, Trump deployed the National Guard to the city, angering Democratic leaders such as Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. Trump slammed Newsom and Bass for allowing the anti-ICE protests to turn into riots as federal, state, and local law enforcement officers were attacked by agitators slinging rocks and cement and shooting fireworks at them.
One person told CNN that the Marines are expected to relieve some of the 2,000 National Guard troops who have been in the city for two days now. Of the 2,000 National Guardsmen in L.A., only around 300 have been deployed to the streets. According to CNN, Defense Department lawyers are finalizing use-of-force guidelines for the Marines.
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Saturday that &#8220;active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton&#8221; were standing ready on &#8220;high alert&#8221; in case of escalating violence. Newsom <a href="https://x.com/GavinNewsom/status/1931565409440088175">called</a> Hegseth&#8217;s statement &#8220;deranged behavior.&#8221; Newsom has argued that the riots have been sufficiently contained by state and local authorities, but President Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-newsom-bass-should-thank-him-for-deploying-national-guard-to-keep-our-citizens-safe?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Says+Newsom%2C+Bass+Should+Thank+Him+For+Deploying+National+Guard+%E2%80%98To+Keep+Our+Citizens+SAFE%E2%80%99">said</a> on Monday that the city “would have been completely obliterated” without his action. Trump also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-would-do-it-trump-says-it-would-be-great-if-his-border-czar-arrested-newsom?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98I+Would+Do+It%E2%80%99%3A+Trump+Says+It+Would+Be+%E2%80%98Great%E2%80%99+If+His+Border+Czar+Arrested+Newsom">told</a> reporters on Monday that it would be “great” if his border czar, Tom Homan, arrested Newsom.
“He’s done a terrible job,” the president said of Newsom. “Look, I like Gavin Newsom, he’s a nice guy, but he’s grossly incompetent.”
California <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-sues-trump-over-national-guard-deployment-says-president-manufactured-crisis">sued</a> the Trump administration over the president&#8217;s order to deploy the National Guard, alleging the president &#8220;is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis.&#8221; The lawsuit argues that Trump unconstitutionally called in the National Guard and infringed on Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s role without there being a clear threat of “invasion” or “rebellion.”
Newsom said that Trump&#8217;s move lays the groundwork for him to &#8220;send the military into ANY STATE HE WISHES.&#8221;

Protests Erupt In L.A.

Trump Deploys Hundreds Of Marines To Los Angeles

Immigration

The United States Northern Command confirmed that 500 U.S. Marines stood on alert in &#8220;prepared to deploy status&#8221; at Twentynine Palms, California, as news broke that protesters had swarmed onto the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles.
Nick Sortor shared video from local news coverage of the ongoing protests, which showed protesters blocking the highway near Union Station at Alameda St. &#8220;Hundreds of drivers are now trapped on the expressway with violent rioters,&#8221; he said in the accompanying X post.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: THOUSANDS of anti-ICE rioters have now TAKEN OVER the 101 freeway in Los Angeles
HUNDREDS of drivers are now trapped on the expressway with vioIent rioters
IT’S TIME: DEPLOY THE MARINES! <a href="https://t.co/2f9A9PcnLW">pic.twitter.com/2f9A9PcnLW</a>
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1931845223090458677?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The U.S. Northern Command issued a press release late on Sunday detailing the number of troops who had already been mobilized — as well as those who were standing on alert in case they were needed to augment those already the ground.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
PRESS RELEASE: USNORTHCOM statement regarding protection of federal property and personnel in the LA Area. 
Approx. 2,000 <a href="https://twitter.com/TheCalGuard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheCalGuard</a> soldiers have been placed under in a Title 10 status. 
Read more: <a href="https://t.co/Hew1buGKyN">https://t.co/Hew1buGKyN</a> <a href="https://t.co/9Cwj08cYK5">pic.twitter.com/9Cwj08cYK5</a>
— U.S. Northern Command (@USNorthernCmd) <a href="https://twitter.com/USNorthernCmd/status/1931864723596665256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The press release read:
<blockquote>By direction of Secretary of Defense and in coordination with U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), approximately 2,000 California Army National Guard soldiers have been placed under federal command and control in a Title 10 status to support the protection of federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.
As USNORTHCOM’s land component command, U.S. Army North stood up Task Force 51, with a two-star general, as the ground command and control element over the Title 10 forces. At this time, there are approximately 300 members of the California Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team deployed at the following locations in the greater Los Angeles area: Los Angeles, Paramount, and Compton, California.
Additionally, approximately 500 Marines from 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines at Twentynine Palms, California, are in a prepared to deploy status should they be necessary to augment and support the DoD’s protection of federal property and personnel efforts.
USNORTHCOM will provide more information as units are identified and deployed.</blockquote>
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had already warned on Saturday that he had placed a number of active duty Marines on high alert at nearby Camp Pendleton, preparing them for the possibility that they might be needed if the situation worsened.
Sortor shared a series of photos and videos showing just how bad things were getting on the streets of Los Angeles. Protesters carrying foreign flags turned on officers who attempted to clear the freeway, throwing objects at them and forcing them to retreat.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: Illegals with foreign flags are now PELTING officers who are trying to clear the freeway with objects, forcing them to retreat under the overpass
THIS IS TOTAL ANARCHY, and it’s getting worse by the second.
WTF ARE YOU DOING, <a href="https://twitter.com/GavinNewsom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GavinNewsom</a>?! <a href="https://t.co/e2sytUXkZL">pic.twitter.com/e2sytUXkZL</a>
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1931851499514052608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Blackhawk helicopters could be seen circling the protest, and Sorter quoted a senior Trump official as saying, &#8220;We WILL NOT bend the knee.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: DHS Blackhawks have been spotted circling the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles
Senior Trump official tells me “we WILL NOT bend the knee,” and more federal assets are being deployed as we speak
WE THE PEOPLE HAVE YOUR BACK! 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/LYPCpjPUIe">pic.twitter.com/LYPCpjPUIe</a>
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1931859163329830964?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Democratic Mayor Karen Bass blamed President Donald Trump for the &#8220;chaos&#8221; that was unfolding but claimed that she had it under control. Meanwhile, the video showed alongside her showed &#8220;TOTAL ANARCHY HAPPENING LIVE.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 JUST IN: LA Mayor Karen Bass SLAMS Trump for deploying troops, and insists she has everything under control
Meanwhile, the camera view next to her shows TOTAL ANARCHY HAPPENING LIVE.
DEMOCRATS LIE TO YOUR FACES.
She even goes as far as JUSTIFYING the riots, and says people… <a href="https://t.co/byAyNTKVyY">pic.twitter.com/byAyNTKVyY</a>
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1931865863512019175?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: Anti-ICE rioters are now SETTING FIRE to multiple vehicles in the streets of Los Angeles
NO POLICE ARE IN SIGHT.
We still have HOURS until dark, and this is CONTINUING to grow.
INVOKE THE INSURRECTION ACT!
🎥 <a href="https://twitter.com/camhigby?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@camhigby</a> <a href="https://t.co/32vt2SEByS">pic.twitter.com/32vt2SEByS</a>
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) <a href="https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/1931869072809140449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Protests Erupt In L.A. County, Sparked By Federal Immigration Raids

Anti-ICE Protesters Swarm 101 Freeway, 500 U.S. Marines Stand ‘Prepared To Deploy’

Anti-ICE Protesters Swarm 101 Freeway, 500 U.S. Marines Stand 'Prepared To Deploy'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced late Saturday night that in addition to the National Guardsmen — who were being deployed to restore order in Los Angeles — he was placing active duty U.S. Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton on high alert.
Hegseth&#8217;s announcement, made via a post on X, came just hours after it was reported that President Donald Trump was deploying a number of National Guard troops as protesters clashed violently with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents across the Los Angeles area.
&#8220;The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil; a dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK. Under President Trump, violence &amp; destruction against federal agents &amp; federal facilities will NOT be tolerated. It’s COMMON SENSE,&#8221; Hegseth said.
&#8220;The @DeptofDefense is mobilizing the National Guard IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles. And, if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil; a dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK.
Under President…
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth/status/1931533276985823392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Under normal circumstances, the Posse Comitatus Act prevents the federal government from deploying the military for law enforcement purposes within the United States&#8217; borders, but the Insurrection Act of 1807 — actually a combination of several statutes enacted between 1792 and 1871 — stands as the one major exception to that. Trump could potentially rely on the Insurrection Act when defending his decision to send troops in to quell the unrest in Los Angeles.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
Under the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9qwez9zz7jo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insurrection Act</a>, the federal government can mobilize the military domestically in order to enforce the law or quell rebellion under certain circumstances. It implements Congress&#8217; Constitutional authority to &#8220;provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
President Donald Trump can and should immediately use the Insurrection Act in Los Angeles. There is historic precedent to do so. <a href="https://t.co/69qy0fwC90">pic.twitter.com/69qy0fwC90</a>
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarmineSabia/status/1931452202217803787?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The law can be implemented if and when a U.S. president determines that &#8220;unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion&#8221; have arisen such that it becomes &#8220;impracticable to enforce&#8221; U.S. laws and maintain order &#8220;by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings.&#8221;

President-Elect Trump’s Cabinet Nominees Meet With Lawmakers On Capitol Hill

Pete Hegseth Puts Nearby U.S. Marines On High Alert As Los Angeles Burns

Department of Defense

At a time when the Pentagon is finally waking up to the physical collapse of our armed forces, Texas has a unique opportunity to lead.
In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sounded the alarm with <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4118161/rapid-force-wide-review-of-military-standards/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a directive</a>: Military standards have dangerously eroded. “Our adversaries are not growing weaker,” he wrote. “Our tasks are not growing less challenging.”
He ordered a department-wide review of physical fitness, grooming, and readiness standards and <a href="https://x.com/SecDef/status/1907509325804798454" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently stated</a>, “For too long, we’ve allowed standards to slip within the ranks for men and women serving in combat MOSs. This is unacceptable and over.”
He also welcomed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the Pentagon, pledging to ensure our warfighters are “healthy and fit to fight.” These moves reflect a growing recognition of the military’s readiness crisis — and that rebuilding a warrior culture requires action, not speeches.
Texas is answering that call.
The Texas Military Forces Health and Readiness Act (House Bill 4993) is a no-compromise legislative initiative to restore physical readiness, health, and resilience in the Texas Military Forces. It aligns with the Department of Defense’s renewed focus on standards and provides a battle-ready model that other states — and even the federal government — can adopt.
<h3>The Current Readiness Crisis And Systemic Failures</h3>
<div id="attachment_908487" style="width: 876px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908487" class="size-large wp-image-908487" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-866x576.jpg" alt="EL PASO, TEXAS - APRIL 02: Texas National Guard soldiers transport border fencing layered with concertina wire near the Rio Grande river on April 02, 2024 in El Paso, Texas. Last week, hundreds of migrants seeking asylum clashed with Texas national guardsmen while waiting to turn themselves in to border patrol agents for processing. Texas continues awaiting a verdict on Senate Bill 4. Attorneys representing the state of Texas are scheduled to return to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on April 3 to continue arguing for the constitutional basis of the bill. Senate Bill 4 allows state law enforcement officials to detain and arrest undocumented immigrants suspected of illegally crossing into the United States. Thus far, all prior attempts to put the Bill into effect have been blocked by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)" width="866" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-866x576.jpg 866w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2133324574.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px" />Brandon Bell/Getty Images</div>
The National Guard plays an increasingly vital dual role: it must respond to domestic crises and be ready to “fight tonight” in peer-level combat operations. Hegseth has emphasized the need to “match threats to capabilities.” But for states like Texas — where the Guard is expected to conduct disaster operations, support border security, and remain deployable worldwide — this mission cannot be met under current conditions.
This isn’t just about pushups. America’s military readiness crisis is real, and it’s gutting our combat capability across the force. Military readiness isn’t a slogan — it’s the bedrock of deterrence and victory. Yet today, 68% of U.S. service members are overweight or obese, according to a 2023 report by the American Security Project. Fitness-related health costs and lost duty time exceed $1.35 billion annually, directly sabotaging operational effectiveness. That’s bad enough for active-duty forces — but for the National Guard, the situation is catastrophic.
If active-duty service members with full access to resources are struggling, the situation for part-time National Guard forces is even more dire. In Texas, part-time Guardsmen train a fraction of the time compared to Active Duty. They are spread across vast distances, often without access to adequate training facilities, wellness programs, or basic fitness infrastructure. Unlike the Active Duty, the Guard operates with persistent disparities in funding, support services, and oversight. Wellness programs go underutilized, accountability is virtually nonexistent, and time for physical training is painfully limited. The result? A force on the edge of collapse — unfit, underprepared, and unable to meet the demands of today’s missions. This isn’t just a training problem. It’s a strategic liability.
<h3>The Army’s Food Scandal: A Symptom Of The Larger Collapse</h3>
Adding insult to injury is the military’s broken nutrition system. A January 2025 Military.com <a href="https://www.military.com/daily-news/investigations-and-features/2025/02/14/over-151-million-taken-soldiers-paychecks-food-costs-spent-elsewhere-army.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigation</a> found that the Army diverted over $151 million in food allowance payments from junior enlisted soldiers, with only 30% of those funds actually going toward meals. At Fort Cavazos in Texas, only $11.7 million of $42.5 million collected went to feed troops. Other bases relied on vending machines stocked with sugary snacks, or served meals of toast and lima beans — or no meals at all.
This isn’t just a logistical failure. It’s a betrayal of the trust and conditions necessary for building a capable, professional fighting force. For the National Guard, already starved of resources and time, this neglect is lethal. This is not a military prepared to win wars — it’s a hollow shell.
<div id="attachment_908491" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-908491" class="size-large wp-image-908491" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-864x576.jpg" alt="EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - JANUARY 12: National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande river at Shelby Park on January 12, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. The Texas National Guard continues its blockade and surveillance of Shelby Park in an effort to deter illegal immigration. The Department of Justice has accused the Texas National Guard of blocking Border Patrol agents from carrying out their duties along the river. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-1928669611.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Brandon Bell/Getty Images</div>
<h3>HB 4993: A Texas-Size Fix</h3>
HB <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/HB04993I.htm">4993</a> is a Texas-sized solution to this national crisis. It creates a comprehensive, accountable system to rebuild readiness:
<ul>
<li>Statewide Fitness Access: State-funded gym memberships and access to certified civilian trainers ensure Guardsmen across Texas can train consistently, regardless of location.</li>
<li>Integrated Digital Platform: Service members get real-time fitness tracking, customized plans, injury prevention, and mental health tools in a secure app.</li>
<li>Comprehensive Wellness Services: The bill funds rehabilitation, nutrition counseling, mental health support, and family-based fitness programs, because force readiness starts at home.</li>
<li>Performance-Based Culture: Structured incentives, advancement pathways, and public recognition will restore the warrior ethos and reward excellence.</li>
<li>Transparency and Accountability: Quarterly reports to the Legislature, corrective action plans, and unit-level oversight. If readiness falters, the system adapts — now, not later.</li>
<li>Minimal Cost, Maximum Return: This initiative delivers a high-impact return at a fraction of the $1.35 billion national fitness-related losses. This is a high-impact, low-cost readiness reform that delivers immediate and lasting results — saving lives, taxpayer dollars, and national security. </li>
</ul>
<h3>Reinforcing National Readiness Priorities</h3>
For too long, the physical and mental health of our service members has been allowed to rot — not because of funding shortages, but because of cowardice, complacency, and a lack of standards. HB 4993 rejects that failure. It embodies the resolve to act decisively and reforge a professional force worthy of the missions it’s expected to carry out.
This is the moment for Texas to lead. HB 4993 supports the national call to “Make America Healthy Again” and hands other states a clear, scalable playbook. The health, fitness, and discipline of our military are not internal HR concerns — they are national security imperatives.
Readiness isn’t negotiable. It’s the prerequisite for effective deterrence, mission success, and survival in a world of growing threats. Texas is doing its part. Now the Texas Legislature must rise to the occasion — and show the nation what readiness, resolve, and responsibility really look like.
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Ammon Blair is a Senior Fellow for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s ‘Secure &amp; Sovereign Texas’ Initiative.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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