California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation preventing other states from sending National Guard troops into California for military or law-enforcement duties without approval from the state governor.
Senate Bill 1354, signed by the Democratic governor on Saturday, September 19, comes amid concerns that President Donald Trump could deploy National Guard personnel around polling stations during the November midterm elections.
The new law prohibits “military personnel from another state, territory, or the District of Columbia from entering California to perform military duty or law-enforcement functions without the permission of the Governor.”
Newsom defended the legislation, saying California’s National Guard should serve residents rather than be used to create fear.
“In California, the National Guard is deployed to serve the people, not to intimidate them,” Newsom said in a press release. “In any matters of public safety, security, and beyond, California will continue to lead.”
The legislation comes as concerns grow among Democrats over the possibility of the Trump administration using troops in connection with the November elections.
On Monday, Democratic state parties announced the launch of the “New Battlefield Project”, an initiative aimed at recruiting 10,000 volunteers to monitor and protect polling locations across the United States, according to the Associated Press.
Newsom’s decision also follows a previous dispute with the Trump administration over the deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles.
In June 2025, Trump ordered about 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles after protests against his immigration policies escalated into incidents of violence.
Trump argued that federal intervention was necessary because Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass had failed to respond adequately to the unrest.
Newsom and Bass rejected that assessment, maintaining that the situation did not warrant the deployment of military personnel.
Several months later, in December, a federal judge blocked Trump’s deployment and directed that control of the National Guard troops be returned to Newsom.
