Hegseth Laughs After Senator Pushes Him to Deny Ordering Military to Use 'Lethal Force' Against Protesters

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laughed when asked if he had authorized the military to use lethal force against protesters, refusing to give a direct answer.

The question came from Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) during a senate hearing on Wednesday. As Slotkin scolded Hegseth for laughing, he asked what the question was based on.

Slotkin referenced Trump's former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, who revealed in his memoir that in 2020, amid Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd, Trump asked, "Can't you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?" Esper said no. Months later, he was fired.

"He had more guts and balls than you," Slotkin told Hegseth. "Because he said, 'I'm not going to send in the uniformed military to do something that I know in my gut isn't right.'"

"This is not hearsay," Slotkin continued. "He wrote that in his book. So your poo-pooing of this just shows that you don't understand who we are as a country."

Again, Slotkin posed the question, "Have you given the order?"

"Senator, I'd be careful what you read in books and believing it," Hegseth deflected, adding, "Except for the Bible." Exasperated, Slotkin moved on.

At Hegseth's confirmation hearing earlier in the year, he dodged similar inquiries.

"Would you carry out such an order from President Trump?" asked Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), referencing the incident with Esper.

Rather than answer, Hegseth described his service in the National Guard in the summer of 2020, when protestors occupied Lafayette Square in Washington D.C. "I was carrying a riot shield on behalf of my country," he said, continuing to detail the event as Hirono repeated the question.

"That sounds to me that you will comply with such an order," Hirono finally stated. "You will shoot protesters in the leg." Hegseth did not confirm or deny her conclusion.

Hirono had questions for Hegseth during Wednesday's hearing too. With active litigation against the Trump administration's current deployment of the military against protestors in Los Angeles, Hirono asked Hegseth if he will respect the court's decision should the deployment be deemed illegal.

"I don't believe district courts should be determining national security policy," Hegseth replied. "When it goes to the Supreme Court, we'll see."