THREE DAYS OF CLASHES between protesters and law enforcement have the nation on edge, with tensions running hot over President Trump’s immigration policy and his dispatching of National Guardsmen.

Images of torched cars and protesters hurling stones and other items at police have lit up social media and cable news, though protests appear to have receded for now, even as the political atmosphere remains charged.

Leaders in both parties are ramping up their rhetoric around the situation. 

Trump addressed the cameras for the first time Monday afternoon upon returning from Camp David, where he met military leaders after the Defense Department put 500 U.S. Marines on standby for deployment.

“Some of the things you’re reading out in Los Angeles, thank goodness we sent out some wonderful National Guard, they’ve really helped,” Trump said at an “Invest In America” roundtable. “And, a lot of problems that we’re having out there. They were afraid to do anything and we sent out the troops and they’ve done a fantastic job. So I want to thank them very much.”

The president took aim at his nemesis, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who has raged at the administration for sending troops, which he said provoked an escalation in the protests.

Trump was asked if his border czar Tom Homan should arrest Newsom.

“I’d do it if I were Tom,” Trump said. “I think it’s great. Gavin likes the publicity. … He’s done a terrible job. I like Gavin Newsom, he’s a nice guy but he’s grossly incompetent, everybody knows.”

Newsom, who is suing the Trump administration over the move to send in the National Guard, had previously dared Homan to arrest him.

“He knows where to find me,” Newsom said. “Lay your hands off 4-year-old girls who are trying to get an education… Come after me. Arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy.”

Homan has warned California leaders they risk arrest if they try to thwart Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation efforts, but he said neither Newsom nor Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) has crossed the line yet.

However, David Huerta, president of the California branch of the Service Employees International Union, was one of dozens arrested and charged with obstruction.

This comes after three days of conflict between law enforcement and protesters, who confronted ICE agents during a series of raids in Southern California.

Trump deployed about 300 National Guard troops to keep the peace, the first time since 1965 that a president has done this against a governor’s wishes.

The imagery coming out of Los Angeles is disturbing. Masked rioters threw rocks at police officers and vehicles. Some set cars on fires and stood atop the blaze waving Mexican flags. Downtown business were looted or vandalized.

Law enforcement responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang devices.

“The people that are causing the problem are professional agitators, they’re insurrectionists,” Trump said Monday. “They’re bad people, they should be in jail.”

Many of the protesters dispersed after the Los Angeles Police Department declared an unlawful assembly Sunday night. Downtown streets remain closed.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned violence but did not take sides.

“It must be clear: We condemn violence wherever it comes from,” Sheinbaum said. “We call on the Mexican community to act peacefully and not fall for provocations.”

Separately, Trump’s new travel ban targeting a dozen countries went into effect Monday.

By Monday, much of the action was taking place on cable news or social media, where U.S. political leaders battled over the narrative.

Newsom accused the Trump administration of lying about the situation on the ground to justify an escalation.

“The Department of Defense is lying to the American people,” Newsom posted on X. “The situation became escalated when THEY deployed troops. Donald Trump has manufactured a crisis and is inflaming conditions. He clearly can’t solve this, so California will.”

The Department of Defense (DOD) responded over X: “Let’s be clear: Los Angeles is burning, and local leaders are refusing to respond. Don’t worry, the National Guard is responding. There is a ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job.”

Bass blamed the National Guard for the “chaotic escalation,” saying the community was already on edge because of the immigration raids taking place.

“When you raid Home Depots and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you cause fear and panic,” she said Monday on CNN. “And deployment of federalized troops on the heels of raids is a chaotic escalation.”

Bass said the protests were justified, but she warned residents not to engage in illegal behavior.

“Angelenos have the right to make their voices heard through peaceful protest but don’t fall into the Administration’s trap,” she said. “Violence is unacceptable. No one should be put in danger — not law enforcement, not protestors. I urge everyone to be peaceful.”

The Hill’s Alex Gangitano writes that Trump versus California is the fight the White House wants:

“The unfolding events hit at the heart of key issues that Trump basks in: immigration and fighting liberal California Democrats.”

Lawmakers in both parties say they expect immigration raids to ramp up in the coming days.

Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) said California lawmakers were told to prepare for “30 days of ICE enforcement.”

“It’s going to escalate the situation,” she said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”  “People are going to protest because they’re angry about the situation. And we have to just reiterate the people to do it peacefully, to make sure not to do any violence.”

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who represents a southern border district, said the raids and deportations in Los Angeles are just “the tip of the iceberg.”

Bass said the protests would carry on for as long as the raids are conducted.

“If immigration raids had not happened here, we would not have had the disorder that went on…it is peaceful now, but we do not know when and where the next raids will be,” she told CNN. “That is the concern because people in this city have a rapid response network. If they see ICE, they go out and they protest.”

The city of Glendale says it terminated its contract with ICE to house immigration detainees.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on CBS’s “Face the Nation”:

“We have rules and we have laws. If you don’t like the laws, go to Congress and change them. Someone should go to Congress and say, change the laws. If we don’t like what’s happening in this country, do that instead of throwing rocks and throwing Molotov cocktails and instead of attacking law enforcement officers. We’re just not going to do that anymore.”

💡Perspectives:

• The New York Times: Trump calling troops is the real emergency.

• USA Today: ICE is enforcing the law.

• CNN: The showdown the White House has been waiting for.

• MotherJones: The ICE policy that set off chaos in L.A.

• The Free Press: What I saw during an ICE operation.

Read more: 

• Trump critics see ‘run around’ of Insurrection Act.

• Democrats itching for fight over immigration.

• Mexican flag becomes L.A. protest symbol: What to know.

• Trump sends troops to L.A. after immigration crackdown protests.

©  Rod Lamkey Jr. and Evan Vucci, Associated Press

The House this week will look to codify cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), even after the relationship between President Trump and Elon Musk imploded in dramatic fashion.

The House Rules Committee on Tuesday will consider the Rescissions Act of 2025, which claws back about $9.4 billion in federal spending, primarily from public media and international aid.

The Hill’s Aris Folley writes: “The request kick-starts a process that would allow Republicans to claw back funds for a list of programs on the administration’s chopping block with just a simple majority in both chambers.”

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hopes to tee up a final vote on the DOGE cuts later this week, although not all Republicans are on board, potentially setting up another nail-biter vote.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a swing district moderate, says he won’t vote for the recessions package if it claws back U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR.

Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.) is urging the Trump administration to reconsider a request to Congress for public broadcasting cuts.

The vote comes days after Trump and Musk lobbed personal insults and threats at one another over social media, a feud that started with Musk’s criticism of the GOP’s Trump agenda bill for adding to the national debt.

Still, Musk came to the administration’s defense over the weekend, backing Trump’s move to mobilize the National Guard against protesters and rioters in Los Angeles.

MEANWHILE…

Republicans are looking for a reset on Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” after a brutal week for the legislation on Capitol Hill left its future in doubt.

The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) will convene small working groups to hash out key components of the bill in hopes of getting it back on track.

Among the GOP leader’s top priorities: Winning the support of Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), two centrist swing votes that have bucked Trump in the past.

So far, much of the focus has been on Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), all of whom have expressed reservations with the bill.

Thune can only afford to lose three Republicans for the bill to pass.

💡Perspectives:

• The Hill: Trump-Musk divorce threatens presidency, GOP.

• The Bulwark: We need a Dem with a spine.

• The Atlantic: Where is Barack Obama?

• The American Spectator: Trump racks up victories.

• The Hill: SCOTUS must halt unconstitutional nationwide injunctions.

Read more: 

• House takes up DOGE cuts amid Trump-Musk feud fallout.

• Supreme Court hands DOGE big wins in Social Security, records cases.

• GOP downplays Trump-Musk feud’s impact on midterms.

• Senate GOP revises ban on state AI regulations.

• What’s a Medicaid cut? Senate GOP tiptoes around $800B question.

U.S. officials met with their Chinese counterparts in London on Monday seeking a way forward on the trade war wracking the globe.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with China’s vice premier He Lifeng and other Chinese officials, amid worsening trade tensions between the two nations.

The mediators will spend the next several days seeking common ground, after the U.S. accused China of reneging on an agreement on rare Earth minerals.

“Our expectation is that… immediately after the handshake, any export controls from the U.S. will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume, and then we can go back to negotiating smaller matters,” National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Last month, both sides agreed to slash tariffs for 90 days to give negotiators time to reach an agreement.

China says its exports to the U.S. fell by 35 percent in May as the trade war took hold.

• Ukraine says Russia launched hundreds of drone attacks Monday.

Peace talks are in limbo after the recent escalation by both sides.

President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he hopes to speak with Trump at the 51st G7 summit next week in Alberta.

• Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was among those taken into Israeli custody Monday after attempting to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza by boat.

“The ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel,” the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) wrote in a post on X. “The passengers are expected to return to their home countries.”

Thunberg said in a video post she had been “kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces.”

The MFA posted a video showing Israeli soldiers passing out sandwiches and water to crew from the apprehended ship after it was stopped off the coast of Gaza, which is subject to a naval blockade and closed to unauthorized vessels.

💡Perspectives:

• Ross Barkan: To a new shining hill.

• The Hill: Unfixable FEMA puts the ‘disaster’ into ‘disaster recovery’.

• The Hill: The slow death of green industrial policy.

Read more: 

• New disputes emerge ahead of US-China trade talks in London.

• DNC chair on leaked call says Hogg ‘essentially destroyed’ initial credibility.

• Religion cases spark both unanimity and division at Supreme Court.

• In fight with Columbia, Trump seeks ‘death sentence’.

• Ocasio-Cortez faces test of her political power.

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