CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Vice President JD Vance joined Marines on Saturday to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States Marine Corps, a milestone marked with fighter jets, helicopters, Navy vessels, and live artillery demonstrations. The event, however, drew criticism from California Governor Gavin Newsom over the safety of firing live rounds over a busy highway.
The demonstration at Camp Pendleton, described by the Marine Corps as the largest in a decade on the continental U.S., included a live fire exercise using a towed howitzer. Newsom, citing safety concerns and potential distractions to drivers, ordered the closure of a section of Interstate 5 in Southern California.
“Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous,” Newsom said in a statement.
Vance’s office countered the criticism, with his communications director, William Martin, stating that the Marine Corps considered the demonstration “an established and safe practice” and part of routine training. “If Gavin Newsom wants to oppose the training exercises that ensure our Armed Forces are the deadliest and most lethal fighting force in the world, then he can go right ahead,” Martin said.
In his remarks, Vance — the first Marine to serve as vice president — reflected on his own military service. He served four years in the Marines after high school, including a tour in Iraq in 2005 as a combat correspondent. “I would not be here today, I would not be the vice president of the United States, I would not be the man I am today were it not for those four years that I served in the Marine Corps,” Vance said.
Vance also addressed efforts by the Trump administration to roll back diversity initiatives in the military, emphasizing unity over demographic differences. “It is not our diversity that makes us stronger,” he said. “It is our common purpose, it is our common mission, and it is the fact that every single person here bleeds Marine Corps green.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth echoed Vance’s remarks, telling the assembled crowd, “Your diversity is not your strength. Never has been. Your strength is in your unity of purpose.”
The vice president also delivered a message from President Donald Trump, who acknowledged the ongoing government shutdown while emphasizing support for military personnel. “Despite the Schumer shutdown, he is going to do everything he can to make sure you get paid exactly as you deserve,” Vance said.
While thousands of federal workers remain furloughed or are working without pay, the Department of Defense has continued paying active-duty troops using “unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds.”