Court Showdown Looms Over Trump’s Federalization of State Troops
Late Thursday, a federal appeals court paused enforcement of a lower court order that would have forced President Donald Trump to return command of 4,000 California National Guard troops to Governor Gavin Newsom. Newsom has not yet responded to this new development.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer had ruled the president’s federalization of the troops was “illegal,” but issued a temporary delay in his decision to give the Trump administration time to appeal. That appeal was swiftly filed with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Granting the emergency request, the appellate court issued a temporary stay and scheduled oral arguments for Tuesday. A three-judge panel will decide whether to maintain the pause or allow Breyer’s order to take effect.
Trump ordered the federal activation of 4,000 Guard members and deployed an additional 700 Marines to Los Angeles in response to widespread protests against federal immigration enforcement. Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit calling the action unconstitutional, arguing it stripped the state of its authority over the Guard without consent.
Estimates of exactly how long the Trump administration is prepared to have the military remain in Los Angeles have varied. At first it was 30 days, then 60 days, and then finally, in a statement made during a press conference held by Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in Downtown Los Angeles, who ominously stated, “We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that this governor and this mayor have placed on this country,”
Trump responded in his typical fashion via his social media account, “Incompetent Gavin Newscum should have been THANKING me for the job we did in Los Angeles, rather than making sad excuses for the poor job he has done. If it weren’t for me getting the National Guard into Los Angeles, it would be burning to the ground right now!”
Breyer sharply criticized the administration’s legal justification during a hearing earlier Thursday in San Francisco, questioning its rationale and citing historical precedent. The outcome of next week’s hearing could determine whether Trump’s unprecedented move stands or is struck down.
His ruling said, in part, “At this early stage of the proceedings, the Court must determine whether the President followed the congressionally mandated procedure for his actions. He did not. His actions were illegal-both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.”
It is not clear if a scheduled hearing set by Breyer for June 20 will still take place.
