A U.S. appeals court has allowed Donald Trump to maintain control over California's National Guard while the state's Democratic governor moves forward with a lawsuit questioning the legality of the Republican president's deployment of the troops to address protests and unrest in Los Angeles.
On Thursday, a three-judge panel from the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals extended a stay on U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer's June 12 ruling, which determined that Trump had unlawfully called the National Guard into federal service. This ruling was part of a lawsuit filed against Trump by Governor Gavin Newsom.
Breyer determined that Trump had breached U.S. law regarding a president's authority over a state's National Guard by failing to coordinate with the governor. He also concluded that the conditions required by the statute for such an action, including a rebellion against federal authority, were not present. As a result, Breyer ordered Trump to relinquish control of California's National Guard back to Newsom. However, shortly after Breyer's decision, a panel from the 9th Circuit temporarily suspended the judge's ruling.
On June 7, amid protests and unrest in Los Angeles over Trump's immigration raids, the president took control of California's National Guard, deploying 4,000 troops against Newsom's wishes. Additionally, Trump ordered 700 U.S. Marines to the city following the National Guard's deployment. Breyer has yet to make a ruling on the legality of the Marine Corps mobilization.
During a court hearing on Tuesday regarding the potential extension of the pause on Breyer’s decision, members of the 9th Circuit panel questioned attorneys representing California and the Trump administration about the extent of judicial oversight over Trump’s authority to deploy troops.
The law outlines three specific conditions under which a president can federalize state National Guard forces: an invasion, a "rebellion or danger of rebellion" against the government, or a situation where the federal government cannot enforce the country’s laws with regular forces.
The Justice Department has stated that once the president identifies an emergency that justifies the use of the National Guard, that decision is not subject to review by any court or state governor.
Trump's choice to deploy troops in Los Angeles sparked a nationwide discussion regarding the military's role on American soil and heightened political tensions in the country's second-largest city. Protests in Los Angeles continued for over a week but eventually subsided, prompting Mayor Karen Bass to lift the curfew she had enacted. In a lawsuit filed on June 9, California contended that Trump's deployment of the National Guard and Marines infringed upon the state's sovereignty and violated federal laws that prohibit military involvement in civilian law enforcement.
The lawsuit argued that the circumstances in Los Angeles did not resemble a "rebellion." It claimed that the protests included isolated incidents of violence that state and local law enforcement could manage without the need for military intervention. The Trump administration has refuted claims that troops are involved in law enforcement, asserting that their role is to safeguard federal buildings and personnel, including officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The 9th Circuit panel consists of two judges appointed by Trump during his first term and one appointed by former Democratic President Joe Biden.
