Court Blocks Trump's Order to Keep National Guard in California

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked a federal judge’s order that directed President Donald Trump to return control of National Guard troops to California. The court announced it would hold a hearing on the matter on Tuesday, just hours after the federal judge’s order was set to take effect at noon on Friday.

Earlier on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the deployment of the National Guard was illegal, violating the Tenth Amendment and exceeding Trump’s statutory authority. This order specifically applied to the National Guard troops and not to the Marines who were also deployed to the protests in Los Angeles. The judge clarified that he would not rule on the Marines because they had not yet been deployed to the streets.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who had requested the judge to issue an emergency stop to the troops assisting with immigration raids, had praised the earlier ruling. “Today was really about a test of democracy, and today we passed the test,” Newsom stated in a news conference before the appeals court decision.

The White House, however, had a different perspective. They described Breyer’s order as “unprecedented” and claimed it “puts our brave federal officials in danger.” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated, “The district court has no authority to usurp the President’s authority as Commander in Chief. The President exercised his lawful authority to mobilize the National Guard to protect federal buildings and personnel in Gavin Newsom’s lawless Los Angeles. The Trump Administration will immediately appeal this abuse of power and looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”

About 700 Marines have been undergoing civil disturbance training at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach in Orange County, California. Nicholas Green, an attorney for the state, informed the court that within the next 24 hours, 140 Marines would replace and relieve National Guard members in Los Angeles.

Typically, the authority to call up the National Guard lies with governors. However, there are limited circumstances under which the president can deploy those troops. Trump federalized members of the California National Guard under an authority known as Title 10. Title 10 allows the president to call the National Guard into federal service under certain limited circumstances, such as when the country “is invaded,” when “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government,” or when the president is unable “to execute the laws of the United States.”

Breyer, in his ruling, stated that the protests in Los Angeles do not meet the definition of a rebellion. “The protests in Los Angeles fall far short of ‘rebellion,’” he wrote.

Governor Newsom sued to block the Guard’s deployment against his wishes. California later filed an emergency motion asking the judge to block the Guard from assisting with immigration raids. The governor argued that the troops were originally deployed to protect federal buildings and wanted the court to block the troops from helping protect immigration agents during the raids, saying that involving the Guard would only escalate tensions and promote civil unrest.

Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, commander of Task Force 51, which is overseeing the Guard troops and Marines sent to Los Angeles, stated that as of Wednesday, about 500 of the Guard troops had been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations. Photos of Guard soldiers providing security for the agents have already been circulated by immigration officials. None of the Marines have been trained to go on immigration raids, and it is not yet clear if they eventually will, Sherman said.

In his broad ruling, the judge determined that Trump had not properly called the Guard up in the first place. The lawsuit argued that Title 10 also requires that the president go through governors when issuing orders to the National Guard. Brett Shumate, an attorney for the federal government, said Trump complied with the statute by informing the general in charge of the troops of his decision and would have the authority to call in the Guard even if he had not.

In a brief filed ahead of the Thursday hearing, the Justice Department said Trump’s orders were not subject to judicial review. “Courts did not interfere when President Eisenhower deployed the military to protect school desegregation. Courts did not interfere when President Nixon deployed the military to deliver the mail in the midst of a postal strike. And courts should not interfere here either,” the department said. “Our position is this is not subject to judicial review,” Shumate told the judge.

Breyer, who at one point waved a copy of the Constitution, disagreed. “We’re talking about the president exercising his authority, and the president is of course limited in that authority. That’s the difference between a constitutional government and King George,” he said.

The protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles intensified after Trump called up the Guard and have since spread to other cities. Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom say are inaccurate.