U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth faced sharp criticism during Thursday’s House Armed Services Committee hearing after he declined to clearly state that Pentagon service members and civilian employees are not required to be supporters of President Donald Trump.

“Do you think political allegiance to Trump is a requirement for serving our nation, either in uniform or a civilian in the Department?” asked U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA).

“I’m incredibly proud as are millions of Americans—” the Secretary began to say.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” interjected Congressman Carbajal. “Not today, Hegseth.”

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“Yes or no,” he demanded.

“Congressman,” the Secretary replied, “you know what a silly question that is.”

“But silly enough. A very straightforward answer, yes or no,” the California Democrat insisted.

“We all support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Hegseth declared.

“You know what? I’m not gonna waste my time anymore,” Carbajal announced. “You’re not worthy of my attention or my questions. You’re an embarrassment to this country, you’re unfit to lead, and there’s been bipartisan members of Congress that have called for your resignation.”

“You should just get the h— out and let somebody competently lead this department,” he continued.

Earlier, Congressman Carbajal chastised Hegseth for “refusing to take responsibility” for his actions.

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“I didn’t think you were qualified before your confirmation, and you have done nothing to inspire confidence and your ability to lead competently,” Carbajal told Hegseth, who had been refusing to answer “yes” or “no” to several of his questions.

“You broke the law in sharing classified information,” he claimed, “and in doing so, endangered the lives of our service members that you are responsible for. Your inability to hold yourself accountable makes you incapable to lead, to lead,” he stressed. “This alone makes you unfit to be the Secretary of Defense.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

.@RepCarbajal (D-CA) to @SecDef Hegseth: “I’m not going to waste my time anymore. You’re not worthy of my attention or my questions. You’re an embarrassment to this country. You’re unfit to lead…You should just get the hell out.” pic.twitter.com/frSGO16OwM

— CSPAN (@cspan) June 12, 2025

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President Donald Trump acknowledged on Thursday that his aggressive and controversial immigration policies are stripping undocumented immigrants from the farming and agriculture workforce. Now, he declares, “Changes are coming!”

Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, reportedly at the direction of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, have been specifically targeting farms to detain and deport undocumented workers.

“The border is no longer the focus,” Reason reported Wednesday. “Now, the administration seemingly believes that the [immigration] crisis extends to nail salons, hardware stores, farms, and restaurants across the country, where undocumented immigrants who are peacefully exchanging labor for dollars are being targeted.”

The Trump administration “is ramping up immigration raids across the country, and farm workers are no longer being spared. Almost half of the more than 850,000 crop workers in the US are undocumented, the Department of Agriculture estimates,” according to Bloomberg News.

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One raid at an Omaha, Nebraska, meat plant reportedly netted 70 detentions this week, and now the facility is operating with just one-third of its staff, Bloomberg reported.

President Trump may be hearing some of the many stories.

In a cryptic message on Thursday, he wrote: “Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”

He did not provide any details.

Critics mocked Trump.

“The president of the United States is seemingly unaware that his administration recently ordered ICE to round up and deport immigrants who haven’t committed crimes … like those who work in tourism and agriculture,” observed MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies.

“Breaking News,” snarked Spencer Hakimian, a hedge fund chief investment officer. “The guy that spent the first 70 years of his life in construction, hospitality, and entertainment, accidentally finds out that our entire labor force runs off of illegal immigration. Oops!”

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“Turns out,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote, “chasing hard working people through ranches and farms and snatching women and children off the streets is not good policy.”

But The New Republic’s Greg Sargent took a wider view.

“Trump just admitted that his mass deportations are bad for farmers and the economy, and crucially, also admitted that workers who are getting deported are ‘almost impossible to replace.’ That’s a massive repudiation of MAGA ideology,” Sargent wrote.

“It’s an enormous admission, both that his deportation policies are terrible *and* that he knows they’re awful politics for him,” he added.

“Every prominent Democrat in the country should jump on this immediately,” Sargent urged. “Enough b——- cowering on this issue. Get on this! Trump just handed you a massive weapon. Use it!”

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is being sharply criticized for his message to the Russian people, congratulating them on “Russia Day.” While it is common for the Department of State to issue such proclamations to various nations, they are typically issued with a purpose—to inform, and to advance American interests, including democracy. Secretary Rubio appears to have chosen a different approach than his predecessors, ignoring the war crimes Russia stands accused of committing.

“On behalf of the American people, I want to congratulate the Russian people on Russia Day,” Rubio’s short statement begins.

“The United States remains committed to supporting the Russian people as they continue to build on their aspirations for a brighter future. We also take this opportunity to reaffirm the United States’ desire for constructive engagement with the Russian Federation to bring about a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine. It is our hope that peace will foster more mutually beneficial relations between our countries.”

By contrast, for example, during the Biden era, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made very clear in his 2022 message to the people of the Russian Federation what their President and government were actually doing.

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“Russian citizens, like people everywhere, deserve to live their lives free of repression and to be able to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms without fear of retribution,” Secretary Blinken wrote. “This includes being able to voice their opinions and peacefully participate in civil and political activities in their own country.”

Blinken accused the Kremlin of having “intensified its crackdown against civil society and independent media,” while lamenting that “many Russian citizens are behind bars for the ‘crime’ of speaking truth to power,” which he described as “internal repression.”

He also told them that the “Kremlin is waging an unprovoked and unjustified war against a sovereign, neighboring state. Russia’s government is attempting to keep its citizens in the dark about the atrocities it is committing against the people of Ukraine.”

“The Kremlin’s war, he continued, “has left Russia isolated internationally, and it is robbing Russian citizens of the possibility of building a better future in harmony with their neighbors.  This isolation is not inevitable, but results from the decisions of Russia’s leaders.”

The Atlantic Council, an American think tank, in February wrote: Russia stands accused of committing a vast array of crimes in Ukraine. Russians have allegedly engaged in the systematic targeting of Ukrainian civilians with the bombardment of civilian homes, infrastructure, churches, and schools. Alleged Russian crimes also include rape, torture, mass trafficking of adults and children, forcible disappearances, and the execution of surrendering Ukrainian soldiers.”

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Critics blasted Secretary Rubio.

Calling the Secretary “just another mouthpiece for the Kremlin,” Professor of Economics Roman Sheremeta wrote that the “greeting from Marco Rubio on ‘russia day’ — a country waging a genocidal war against Ukraine — is an insult to the millions of Ukrainians who suffer daily from russian aggression.”

“Let’s be clear,” Professor Sheremeta continued, “this isn’t about ‘supporting the russian people.’ It’s about legitimizing a regime that kills, deports, tortures, and bombs civilians every day. A regime that is still committing genocide.”

Daily Beast columnist Julia Davis, a Russia expert, wrote that “Rubio’s State Department sending congratulations on Russia National Day and pining for better relations” was “an unusual way of condemning Russia’s invasion.”

Former Ukraine government official Olena Tregub is the co-founder of an anti-corruption non-governmental organization.

“A few months ago,” she wrote, “I got an email from Secretary of State Marco Rubio: our work was suspended – not in the U.S. national interest. Today, another email: congratulations to Russia on its National Day. As a Ukrainian, I got the message loud and clear.”

Marko Mihkelson, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament, asked: “Can you imagine the U.S. Secretary of State in 1943 congratulating Nazi Germany and wishing them a bright future?”

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