Federal appeals court rules Trump to maintain control of California National Guard, overruling judge

A federal appeals court late Thursday ruled that the Trump administration can maintain control over National Guard troops in California, and continue to deploy them against rioters in Los Angeles, blocking a lower court ruling that President Donald Trump's federalization of the guardsmen was unlawful.

A three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restored Trump's authority over the deployment of at least 4,000 California National Guard troops and several hundred Marines.

Earlier, a federal judge had ruled in favor of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had sued Trump over the federalization of the National Guard, after anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protests in Los Angeles turned into riots over the weekend. Trump has also activated 700 Marines to the area to help defend federal law enforcement officers and buildings.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer approved the temporary restraining order after a heated hearing earlier in the day, where he claimed that recent actions by the Trump administration and president were reminiscent of a monarchy.

“That’s not where we live. We live in response to a monarch. This country was founded in response to a monarch,” Breyer said in the hearing. “The Constitution is a document of limitations.”

Breyer ruled in a 36-page order that the president's actions were unconstitutional and exceeded his authority. 

“His actions were illegal – both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith,” the judge wrote, per CNN.

A stay on the restraining order has been implemented until noon Friday, and a hearing on the order has been scheduled for June 20. The order also bans the administration from deploying more members of the National Guard to California.

The Justice Department has filed a notice of appeal. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.