A U.S. appeals court has allowed President Donald Trump to maintain control of California’s National Guard while Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom pursues a legal challenge against the deployment of 4,000 troops and 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles.
The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals extended its pause on a lower court’s ruling that found Trump violated federal law by federalizing the Guard without Newsom’s consent.
The three-judge panel—comprising two Trump appointees and one Biden appointee—suggested the president likely acted within his authority under the Insurrection Act, despite Newsom’s objections. The court cited violent protests in Los Angeles, including Molotov cocktail attacks and property destruction, as justification for federal intervention.
However, the judges clarified their decision does not endorse the National Guard’s specific activities, leaving room for further challenges under laws prohibiting military involvement in domestic policing.
In a fiery social media post, Newsom condemned the ruling, declaring, “The president is not a king,” and pledged to continue his lawsuit. The governor argues Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown unlawfully bypassed state authority. Meanwhile, Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social, framing it as a victory for law and order and vowing to protect Americans when local authorities fail.
The legal battle centers on whether Trump met the Insurrection Act’s three conditions for federalizing state forces: an invasion, rebellion, or inability to enforce laws with troops. While U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer previously ruled no such emergency existed, the appeals court pointed to protest violence targeting ICE agents as potential justification. The Justice Department maintains presidential emergency powers are unreviewable—a claim the court rejected without fully endorsing Newsom’s stance.
With Los Angeles’ curfew lifted and protests subsiding, the unresolved legal issues remain, including the pending challenge to Trump’s Marine Corps mobilization.
