Trump touts ruling on National Guard in LA

The Hill

20-06-2025

President Trump touted a 'big win' Friday morning in his fight with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over control of the state's National Guard, which Trump federalized earlier this month in response to protests against his immigration raids.
A federal appeals court ruled late Thursday the president could retain control of the state's National Guard for the time being.
'BIG WIN in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the President's core power to call in the National Guard,' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
'The Judges obviously realized that Gavin Newscum is incompetent and ill prepared, but this is much bigger than Gavin, because all over the United States, if our Cities, and our people, need protection, we are the ones to give it to them should State and Local Police be unable, for whatever reason, to get the job done,' he added.
Newsom argued Trump's decision to federalize soldiers without consulting him was illegal and asked the courts for an emergency order to block the move. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, a Clinton appointee, initially ruled in California's favor, but the emergency injunction was overturned by the Ninth Circuit on June 13.
The three-judge panel unanimously extended its pause in an unsigned, 38-page decision released Thursday night.
'We emphasize, however, that our decision addresses only the facts before us. And although we hold that the President likely has authority to federalize the National Guard, nothing in our decision addresses the nature of the activities in which the federalized National Guard may engage,' the appeals panel wrote.
The panel said it disagreed with the administration that Trump's decision isn't reviewable by the courts, but the judges acknowledged they must be 'highly deferential.'
'Affording the President that deference, we conclude that it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority,' the opinion reads.
Responding to the Thursday night ruling, Newsom said 'This fight doesn't end here' in a post on X.
'The court rightly rejected Trump's claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court. The President is not a king and is not above the law,' he wrote.
'We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump's authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens,' he added.
Though the 9th Circuit's decision marks a victory for Trump in the legal battle, it may be short-lived. Breyer is set to hold a hearing Friday on whether to issue an indefinite injunction.
Breyer, in his initial ruling, ruled the Guard deployment was illegal and both violated the Tenth Amendment, which defines power between federal and state governments, and exceeded Trump's statutory authority.
'The protests in Los Angeles fall far short of 'rebellion,'' he wrote. 'Individuals' right to protest the government is one of the fundamental rights protected by the First Amendment, and just because some stray bad actors go too far does not wipe out that right for everyone.'
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) said the president was using soldiers as 'props' in a city where they are not needed.
'We need to remember who makes up the National Guard and the Marines — young men and women, pulled from their homes, families, and education, to do NOTHING,' she wrote in a Friday post on X.