Court Rules Trump Retains Control of California National Guard
A federal appeals court on Thursday evening ruled that President Donald Trump can retain authority over nearly 4,000 California National Guard troops he federalized in response to ongoing protests in Los Angeles against his immigration crackdown.
The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted an earlier ruling by a lower court that deemed Trump’s deployment of the National Guard unlawful.
The pause allows the president to continue mobilizing National Guard personnel along with 700 U.S. Marines, reinforcing a federal military presence in the country’s second-largest city.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has strongly objected to the move, accusing Trump of using the military to escalate tensions for political purposes.
In a formal letter, Newsom criticized the federal action as a violation of state authority, noting that the Department of Defense had bypassed the required coordination with his office.
“This directive was neither approved nor transmitted through the Office of the Governor, as mandated by law,” Newsom stated.
He had welcomed the earlier ruling from U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who said Trump had overstepped his legal bounds and violated the Tenth Amendment, which protects state sovereignty.
Judge Breyer’s opinion described the federalization of the Guard as exceeding Trump’s statutory authority.
Newsom responded by calling it “a victory for constitutional checks and balances,” adding, “We are done being pushed around by a president who governs by intimidation.”
In defense, Trump administration lawyers argued the president acted within his constitutional powers as Commander in Chief.
In their appeal, they warned that Judge Breyer’s order represented “an extraordinary intrusion on executive authority,” asserting that the deployment was necessary to safeguard federal personnel and property amid what they described as ongoing violence.
While Newsom insists that local law enforcement had the demonstrations under control, Trump has claimed that without federal intervention, “Los Angeles would be burning to the ground.”
The legal tug-of-war underscores growing tensions between the federal government and state leaders over how to handle protests and the scope of presidential power.
Court Rules Trump Retains Control of California National Guard