President Trump will maintain control of National Guard troops he deployed to Los Angeles to tamp down riots over federal immigration raids, an appeals court ruled Thursday — a move the commander in chief celebrated as a “big win.”
A lower court had previously ruled that Trump likely exceeded his constitutional authority by dispatching the soldiers despite opposition from California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom — marking the first deployment of a state National Guard by the president without the governor’s permission since 1965.
The San Francisco-based Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals, however, suggested in its ruling that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority in taking federal control of the guard, as the violence and chaos of the LA demonstrations warranted the administration’s decision to do so.
“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.”
Even if the federal government failed to notify Newsom before federalizing the National Guard, as required by law, the California governor wouldn’t have the power to veto the president’s order anyway, the court found.
Trump called the decision a “BIG WIN” in a post on Truth Social.
“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 wrote.
Newsom vowed to continue challenging Trump, but praised one aspect of the court’s 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 wrote in a statement.
“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 the U.S. military soldiers against citizens,” he said.
The court’s decision comes after Trump directed US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to execute deportations in other Democrat-run cities.
Trump had argued that the National Guard was necessary to restore order, while Newsom whined that the move escalated tensions, expropriated local authorities and wasted resources.
Two members of the appeals panel — Judges Mark Bennett and Eric Miller — were appointed by Trump during his first term in office.
During oral arguments Tuesday, all three judges suggested that courts should be hesitant to step in regarding federal law at issue, as presidents have wide latitude.
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The case began when Newsom sued to block Trump’s seizure of the guard.
The governor won an early victory when US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco ruled that Trump had overstepped his legal authority, which only gives presidents freedom to 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 the brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
The Trump Administration argued against the decision and swiftly secured a temporary halt from the appeals court.
Control of the California National Guard will remain in federal hands as the lawsuit continues to unfold.
With Post Wires
