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A federal appeals court on Thursday night ruled that the Trump administration can retain control of National Guard troops deployed in California, overturning a lower court’s decision that found the federalization of the guardsmen unlawful.
A three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restored President Donald Trump’s authority to oversee the deployment of at least 4,000 California National Guard members and several hundred Marines to Los Angeles following violent protests targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.
“The Appeals Court ruled last night that I can use the National Guard to keep our cities, in this case Los Angeles, safe. If I didn’t send the Military into Los Angeles, that city would be burning to the ground right now. We saved L.A. Thank you for the Decision!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social Friday morning.
The ruling blocks an earlier order from U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who had sided with California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a lawsuit challenging the president’s decision to federalize the Guard. The lawsuit came after anti-ICE demonstrations escalated into riots over the weekend, prompting Trump to activate additional military personnel to protect federal property and law enforcement officers.
During a contentious hearing Thursday, Breyer criticized the administration’s actions, drawing historical parallels. “That’s not where we live. We live in response to a monarch. This country was founded in response to a monarch,” Breyer said. “The Constitution is a document of limitations.”
In his ruling, Breyer wrote that Trump’s 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,” according to CNN.
The appeals court’s decision pauses enforcement of Breyer’s temporary restraining order until at least noon Friday. A full hearing on the matter is scheduled for June 20. The lower court’s order also prohibited the federal government from deploying additional National Guard troops to the state.
The Department of Justice has filed a notice of appeal as the legal battle over federal and state authority in crisis response continues.
