'It was 'misuse' of soldiers...': Mayor Karen Bass slams National Guard deployment in Los Angeles

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the removal of half of the 4,000 National Guard troops who had been sent to Los Angeles to protect federal property and personnel during a spate of protests last month, the Pentagon said on Tuesday (July 15). Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the decision was due to the success of the mission. President Donald Trump deployed the California National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June, against the wishes of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, to quell protests triggered by immigration raids on workplaces by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a press conference that the National Guard's primary mission has been to guard two buildings that "frankly didn't need to be guarded." "I am hoping that this experiment with the lives of people ends here," she said.