Appeals court lets Trump keep control of National Guard troops deployed
to Los Angeles
[June 20, 2025]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An appeals court on Thursday allowed
President Donald Trump to keep control of National Guard troops he
deployed to Los Angeles following protests over immigration raids.
The decision halts a ruling from a lower court judge who found Trump
acted illegally when he activated the soldiers over opposition from
California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The deployment was the first by a president of a state National Guard
without the governor’s permission since 1965.
In its decision, a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals unanimously concluded it was likely Trump lawfully exercised his
authority in federalizing control of the guard.
It said that while presidents don't have unfettered power to seize
control of a state's guard, the Trump administration had presented
enough evidence to show it had a defensible rationale for doing so,
citing violent acts by protesters.
“The undisputed facts demonstrate that before the deployment of the
National Guard, protesters ‘pinned down’ several federal officers and
threw ‘concrete chunks, bottles of liquid, and other objects’ at the
officers. Protesters also damaged federal buildings and caused the
closure of at least one federal building. And a federal van was attacked
by protesters who smashed in the van’s windows," the court wrote. "The
federal government’s interest in preventing incidents like these is
significant.”
It also found that even if the federal government failed to notify the
governor of California before federalizing the National Guard as
required by law, Newsom had no power to veto the president’s order.
Trump celebrated the decision on his Truth Social platform, calling it a
“BIG WIN.”
He wrote that “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.”
Newsom issued a statement that expressed disappointment that the court
is allowing Trump to retain control of the Guard. But he also welcomed
one aspect of the decision.
“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," Newsom said. "The President is not a king and is not above the
law. We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump’s
authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens.”
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Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer
granted an emergency temporary restraining to stop President Trump's
deployment of the California National Guard, Thursday, June 12,
2025, at the California State Supreme Court building in San
Francisco. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
The court case could have wider implications on the president’s
power to deploy soldiers within the United States after Trump
directed immigration officials to prioritize deportations from other
Democratic-run cities.
Trump, a Republican, argued that the troops were necessary to
restore order. Newsom, a Democrat, said the move inflamed tensions,
usurped local authority and wasted resources. The protests have
since appeared to be winding down.
Two judges on the appeals panel were appointed by Trump during his
first term. During oral arguments Tuesday, all three judges
suggested that presidents have wide latitude under the federal law
at issue and that courts should be reluctant to step in.
The case started when Newsom sued to block Trump’s command, and he
won an early victory from U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San
Francisco.
Breyer found that Trump had overstepped his legal authority, which
he said only allows presidents can take control during times of
“rebellion or danger of a rebellion.”
“The protests in Los Angeles fall far short of ‘rebellion,’” wrote
Breyer, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton and is
brother to retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
The Trump administration, though, argued that courts can’t second
guess the president’s decisions and quickly secured a temporary halt
from the appeals court.
The ruling means control of the California National Guard will stay
in federal hands as the lawsuit continues to unfold.
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