Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the administration would consider deploying Guard troops and other service members to other U.S. cities “if necessary,” as Military.com reported.

Hegseth was asked during a Senate defense appropriations subcommittee hearing about the breadth of President Trump’s order that has led to Guard and Marines presence in Los Angeles amid anti-ICE protests in a portion of downtown L.A. The order is broad enough that many experts say it could be used for additional deployments.

Hegseth said the purpose of Trump’s order “is getting ahead of a problem, so that if in other places, if there are other riots in places where law enforcement officers are threatened, we would have the capability to surge National Guard there if necessary.”

Trump himself said Tuesday that the Los Angeles deployment could be “the first, perhaps, of many,” ABC News reported.

DOD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza