President Donald Trump has built his presidency around stretching the bounds of presidential authority, and his response to protests over an immigration crackdown in Los Angeles is no exception.

During the volatile early days of the racial justice protests in 2020, city officials in Los Angeles at first resisted calling for National Guard assistance before deciding that troops were needed to control crowds.

Hegseth was angered by his exclusion and resigned from the Guard. That experience remains with him as he attempts to reshape the military, and its role in society, in line with Trump's worldview. As he has written: “My trust for this Army is irrevocably broken.”

National Guard members and Marines deployed to Los Angeles cannot perform law enforcement duties by law. That would change if Trump invokes the Insurrection Act.

The state of California is suing the Trump administration for deploying the state’s National Guard to quell immigration protests in Los Angeles. MSNBC Political Analyst Cornell Belcher and Patrick Gaspard of the Center for American Progress join The Weeknight to discuss Trump's military response to the L.

Monday's protests were largely calmer than Sunday's clashes. California officials insist that the 4,000 National Guards troops and 700 active duty Marines en route to L.A. are an unnecessary abuse of power by Trump.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday defended the administration's mobilization of the National Guard and members of the Marine Corps to Los Angeles amid ongoing immigration protests.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended President Trump deploying National Guard to L.A., stating Gavin Newsom is "choos[ing] rioters and criminal illegals" over American law enforcement.