Updated June 20, 2025 at 11:04 AM AKDT
A federal appeals court in California has ruled that President Trump can maintain control over California National Guard troops in Los Angeles — rejecting at least temporarily Gov. Gavin Newsom's attempt to take back control of the Guard.
It was the latest in a series of court rulings over control of the Guard. Trump took control nearly two weeks ago saying it was needed to protect federal property and prevent interference with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and other federal officers, whose detention and deportation tactics had prompted protests.
The ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday is temporary. It blocks a lower court ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer a week ago that said Trump was using the Guard in L.A. illegally and that he had to relinquish control back to the state.
Breyer, who presides over the ongoing case in the lower court, said in a brief hearing Friday that he would follow the appeals court's ruling and asked lawyers for the administration and the state to file briefs next week on what other issues he can consider as the case goes forward. Those could include arguments on the role of the troops on the ground.
His 36-page ruling on June 12 had put Trump's control of the Guard briefly in doubt. In response to a lawsuit against Trump by Newsom, he said Trump's "actions were illegal — both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution." The Tenth Amendment spells out powers of state and federal governments.
He also rejected an assertion by Trump that L.A.'s protests amounted to a rebellion against federal authority. Breyer acknowledged there was violence in some instances but said, "The protests in Los Angeles fall far short of rebellion."
But the three-judge appeals panel Thursday night disagreed with Breyer's determination that the unrest in L.A. did not justify Trump deploying the Guard. The appeals court said a president can deploy the Guard to prevent interference with the execution of federal law — setting aside the question of a "rebellion."
The 38-page appeals court ruling also noted incidents of violence listed by administration attorneys, including protesters targeting local and federal law enforcement with Molotov cocktails and "mortar-style fireworks." The ruling said one Customs and Border Patrol agent suffered a "shattered wrist." It also noted damage to federal property.
While the appeals court rejected administration lawyers' assertions that courts cannot review a president's decision to activate the Guard, it said that courts should be "highly deferential" to the president on the issue. The appeals court also brushed off California's claims that the presence of the Guard could escalate tensions, calling that "speculative."
Trump federalized and deployed some 4,000 Guard and 700 U.S. Marines over Newsom's objections earlier this month after increasingly unruly protests against ICE tactics. National Guard units across the country are under the command of governors but can be federalized by presidents.
This ruling does not address the status of the Marines.
In his initial order deploying the Guard, Trump said there had been attempts to impede immigration agents in L.A. that constituted "a form of rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States." His lawyers cited images of burning cars and crowds blocking the movement of ICE agents.
It was the first time in 60 years that a president had activated a state's National Guard over the objections of the state's governor. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights demonstrators.
Trump posted on Truth Social that the ruling is a "BIG WIN." He continued "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."
He called Newsom, "incompetent and ill prepared." The two men have been trading insults for weeks.
Newsom said in a statement that, "The fight doesn't end here," and that, "The President is not a king and is not above the law."
At a hearing June 12, attorneys for California argued Trump's federalization of national guard troops was unlawful. Newsom has said he wasn't consulted before Trump decided to take control of the Guard. The Democratic governor has also argued the military presence would increase tensions between protesters and law enforcement and that local law enforcement could handle the protests.
California's attorneys also wanted the courts to block Trump's deployment of the Marines to L.A., but Breyer declined to rule on that issue because they had yet to be sent out to the area.
Attorneys for the federal government argued Trump acted within his constitutional authority to call in National Guard troops. They said the administration met the legal requirement to go "through" Governor Newsom in mobilizing the National Guard because they coordinated with the Guard's adjutant general in California, who represents the governor.
Breyer ordered Trump to hand over control of the Guard the next day. But within three hours, the appeals court had blocked Breyer's ruling. Then the ruling Thursday night rejected a California attempt to remove that block.
Laura Fitzgerald covers California politics for CapRadio.
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