Schatz grills Hegseth, calls on Republicans to kill the 'One Big Beautiful Bill'

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, upped his criticism of the Trump administration Wednesday, grilling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine about the deployment of National Guard and U.S. Marine personnel to quell protests in Los Angeles during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing. He called on Republicans to kill the president’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” in a speech from the Senate floor. 

At the subcommittee hearing, Schatz asked Caine if, in fact, the United States was being invaded by a foreign nation or if a rebellion was occurring, to which Caine responded: “I do not see any state-sponsored folks invading. There’s definitely some frustrated folks out there.” 

Turning to Hegseth, Schatz asked, “Did you just potentially mobilize every Guard everywhere and every service member everywhere? I mean, create the framework for that?” 

Hegseth, a frequent target of Schatz’s criticism dating back to his initial appointment, responded that the deployments were a preemptive move should protests expand to other areas.

Schatz was more direct in his condemnation of the deployments in his Senate speech, repeating earlier accusations that the real purpose of the military intervention is to shift public attention away from a Republican legislative package he said would gut Medicaid and cut off food assistance for children and families while delivering a $600 billion tax cut for large corporations and the nation’s wealthiest 1%.

“Trump does what he always does. He creates a spectacle out of nowhere in order to distract people from what is actually happening,” Schatz said. “They are cutting Medicaid. They are slashing nutritional assistance for children and families. They are jacking up everyone’s health insurance premiums and energy bills.”

The Trump administration has maintained that the bill would in fact benefit nearly all Americans.

In “50 Wins in the One Big Beautiful Bill,” an overview of benefits posted to the White House website, the administration claimed the legislation would deliver the largest tax cut in American history, with Americans earning between $30,000 and $80,000 paying about 15% less in taxes.

And as the bill would make tax cuts initiated during Trump’s first term in office permanent, Americans would also be spared what the administration claimed would be “the largest tax increase in history."

Schatz pushed back at the administration’s claims.

“Here’s what’s going to happen if Republicans pass this bill,” he said. “Anyone making $4 million a year or more will get a very nice tax break, and the more you make, the more you’ll get. So, if you’re a millionaire, you get close to $70,000. But if you’re a billionaire, you’re looking at $300,000. 

“Now, if you’re wondering, ‘Well, what about me? I’m not a billionaire or a millionaire. What do I get?’” he continued. “Well, next to nothing. Worse than that, you’re going to be subsidizing these enormous tax cuts with cuts to your benefits and services 16 million Americans, including 60,000 people in the state of Hawaii, will lose coverage through Medicaid because of these cuts, meaning even when people get really sick, they’re going to avoid going to the hospital and buying medication because they cannot afford it. And then they’re going to turn to emergency care because they have no choice.”

Schatz also noted controversial provisions tucked into the bill, including one that would prevent judges from taking action against people for violating court orders and another that would establish a tax credit for the purchase of gun silencers.

“We’re going to fight as hard as we can,” Schatz told his Senate colleagues. “We’ve only got 47 votes. We need four Republicans to say ‘enough is enough.’”