A federal appeals court on June 12 paused a ruling that would have forced President Donald Trump to return control of the California National Guard to Governor Gavin Newsom, setting a hearing for June 17.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay of U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer’s order, which had found Trump’s deployment of over 2,000 Guardsmen in Los Angeles unconstitutional. Breyer ruled Trump exceeded his authority under Title 10 of the U.S. Code and violated the Tenth Amendment.
“His actions were illegal—both exceeding statutory authority and violating the Constitution,” Breyer wrote according to ABC News.
Trump had invoked Section 12406 of Title 10, which permits federalization in case of “rebellion.” Breyer rejected the justification, stating the LA protests did not qualify as rebellion and posed no threat that state and local officials could not handle.
“The idea that protesters can so quickly cross the line into rebellion is untenable and dangerous,” he added.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Newsom argued the deployment was an unlawful militarization that stripped the state of Guard resources needed for wildfire preparedness, counter-drug enforcement, and public safety.
The Justice Department argued courts should not override the president’s military discretion, calling Breyer’s order “an extraordinary intrusion” on presidential power.
The judge declined to rule on whether the Guard’s presence alongside ICE agents violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which bans military involvement in civilian law enforcement.
Following the ruling, Newsom vowed to return Guard units to their regular duties. Trump defended his action, claiming Los Angeles was “under siege” and warning other cities not to interfere with federal immigration enforcement.
“If we didn’t attack this one strongly, you’d have them all over the country,” Trump said.
Protests have since expanded to Boston, Chicago, and Seattle.
