California formally sued the Trump administration Monday in a bid to void President Trump’s weekend move to federalize the state’s National Guard to contain anti-ICE rioting in Los Angeles.
State officials, led by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta, argued that Trump exceeded his authority and flouted the 10th Amendment by calling up the Guard under a federal law intended to address an “invasion” or “rebellion.”
Governors serve as Commanders in Chief of their state National Guard, but US presidents also have the power to overrule them if federal law cannot be enforced via “regular forces.” Under the 10th Amendment, powers that aren’t expressly delegated to the federal government or prohibited to the states belong to either the states or the people.
“Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority. This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic,” Newsom said in a statement announcing the suit.
“Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach. This is beyond incompetence — this is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy. It is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. We will not let this stand.”
On Friday, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out multiple raids across Los Angeles, triggering violent protests in the city of Paramount that devolved into riots.
Trump promptly moved to federalize the California National Guard, the first time a president had done so without a governor’s consent since 1965, when Lyndon Johnson ordered troops to protect civil rights marchers in Alabama over the objection of Democratic Gov. George Wallace.
“Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion,” Bonta declared in a statement. “The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends.”
“Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the President’s authority under the law – and not one we take lightly. We’re asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order.”
Trump shrugged off the lawsuit on Monday and suggested that many Golden State officials are privately breathing a sigh of relief that he intervened.
“If we didn’t do the job, that place would be burning down,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I watched Minneapolis burn [in 2020]. …. There’s so many different places where we let it burn. We wanted to be politically correct. We wanted to be nice. We want to be nice to the criminal. And what you’re doing is destroying the fabric of our life in this country now. We did the right thing.”
“I think Gavin, in his own way, is probably happy I got involved.”
Newsom, seen by many as a potential candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, has publicly pleaded with the president to reverse course and urged the public not to riot, warning that doing so will give Trump a “spectacle.”
Trump’s memo, which was signed Saturday, moved to federalize the California National Guard for 60 days. Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) claimed Sunday she was told to expect intense immigration enforcement efforts in the Los Angeles area for the next 30 days.
Earlier Monday, Trump indicated that he would be amenable to arresting Newsom after border czar Tom Homan floated the idea.
“This is a day I hoped I would never see in America,” Newsom wrote on X Monday of Trump’s suggestion. “I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”
