Military commander asks Hegseth to return California Guard troops so they can fight wildfires

The military commander in charge of the troops that responded to the protests against immigration raids in California has requested that 200 of those troops be returned to wildfire-fighting duty.

The request was made late Monday to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

In early June, President Trump ordered the deployment of nearly 4,000 California National Guard troops to respond to anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests. This order raised many concerns and went against the wishes of California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Newsom worries now that as the state is heading into peak wildfire season, the National Guard is understaffed due to Trump’s deployment of troops for the immigration protests.

U.S. Northern Command head Gen. Gregory Guillot, the top military commander of the troops, submitted the request to Hegseth. He asks that the troops be returned to Joint Task Force Rattlesnake, which is the California National Guard’s wildfire unit, according to the Associated Press.

This information was provided to the wires service by two U.S. officials who prefer to remain anonymous for the time being.