A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to end its federal control of the California National Guard in Los Angeles and return command to the state, ruling in favor of California officials who challenged the move. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction after the administration seized control of the guard in June over Governor Gavin Newsom’s objections to respond to protests tied to immigration enforcement operations.
The decision is the latest legal setback for the administration, which has federalized National Guard units in multiple Democratic-led cities, saying the troops are needed to fight crime and protect federal immigration facilities and officers. Nearly every such deployment is now mired in litigation, with some cases reaching the U.S. Supreme Court.
Los Angeles was the first deployment this summer, when more than 4,000 troops were federalized; that force has since dwindled to roughly 100. The administration has repeatedly sought extensions of the federalization, most recently until February, asserting continued necessity.
Judge Breyer rejected the administration’s contention that once a state guard is lawfully federalized, the president may extend control without judicial review. “That is shocking,” he wrote, warning that such an interpretation would allow a president “to create a perpetual police force comprised of state troops.” He added that granting the president unchecked authority over state troops would “wholly upend the federalism that is at the heart of our system of government.”
Constitutional scholars have raised similar concerns about the scope of executive power and the normalization of troops on city streets. The White House responded through spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, asserting the Los Angeles deployment was within the president’s “lawful authority” and saying the administration looks forward to “ultimate victory.” The injunction is stayed until Monday to allow the government to appeal.
