Trump approves sending additional 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles

President Donald Trump on Monday directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to send another 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles to help end the days-long riots happening in Southern California. 

The order comes after the president activated 2,000 National Guard members over the weekend to help protect federal buildings and federal officers amid a wave of immigration-related raids. The new order now brings the number of troops to 4,000.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed the new order in a post on social media, but did not indicate when the new troops would be deployed. 

"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 [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] & to enable federal law-enforcement officers to safely conduct their duties," Parnell wrote.

The move was criticized by California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who stated that the directive was "disrespectful to our troops."

"I was just informed Trump is deploying another 2,000 Guard troops to L.A," Newsom posted to X. "The first 2,000? Given no food or water. Only approx. 300 are deployed — the rest are sitting, unused, in federal buildings without orders.

"This isn’t about public safety. It’s about stroking a dangerous President’s ego," he continued. "This is Reckless. Pointless. And Disrespectful to our troops."

The comment comes after Hegseth slammed Newsom for not protecting federal officers. Hegseth has also activated 700 Marines to Los Angeles.

"We have an obligation to defend federal law enforcement officers — even if Gavin Newsom will not," Hegseth said.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.