On Thursday night, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted a lower court’s order that would have required President Donald Trump to return control of California National Guard troops to Governor Gavin Newsom.
The 9th Circuit Court, based in San Francisco, is one of the most powerful federal appeals courts in the country. It covers nine western states, including California. The three-judge panel reviewing this case includes two Trump appointees and one appointed by President Biden. A full hearing is set for Tuesday.
The decision followed a 36-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer earlier that day, who said Trump had overstepped his legal authority. Breyer wrote that Trump’s move to federalise the Guard during protests over immigration raids was “illegal”, saying the action “violated the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
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“The protests in Los Angeles fall far short of ‘rebellion,’” Breyer wrote. “The evidence is overwhelming that protesters gathered to protest a single issue—the immigration raids.”
Judge rules President can’t ‘play king’ with National Guard
{{/usCountry}}“The protests in Los Angeles fall far short of ‘rebellion,’” Breyer wrote. “The evidence is overwhelming that protesters gathered to protest a single issue—the immigration raids.”
Judge rules President can’t ‘play king’ with National Guard
{{/usCountry}}The legal dispute began after protests in Los Angeles, sparked by aggressive immigration enforcement. Amid all these, Trump ordered nearly 2,000 California National Guard members into the city without the governor’s consent.
“It is not the federal government’s place in our constitutional system to take over a state’s police power whenever it is dissatisfied with how vigorously or quickly the state is enforcing its own laws,” Breyer noted.
Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued to block the deployment. “We aren’t in the throes of a rebellion,” Bonta said. “The situation in Los Angeles last weekend didn’t warrant the deployment of military troops, and their arrival only inflamed the situation.”
The Trump administration maintains the action was legal under Section 12406 of Title 10, which allows the president to federalise the Guard during a rebellion. Judge Breyer pushed back, saying, “That’s the difference between the president and King George.”
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Newsom called the ruling “a win for all Americans,” though for now, the Guard remains under federal command.