Newsom has promised to continue pushing back against the White House. “The fight doesn’t end here,” he said in response to the ruling. “The President is not a king and is not above the law.”
A federal appeals court will let President Donald Trump retain control over the California National Guard even as litigation continues.
According to The Guardian, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit extended a pause it had placed on District Court Judge Charles Breyer’s June 12 order finding that Trump’s activation of the California National Guard was unlawful.
Both rulings relate to a lawsuit filed on behalf of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who claims that the president does not have the authority to seize control of the National Guard without compelling reason to do so.
In his earlier ruling, Breyer determined that Trump violated federal law by failing to coordinate the use of National Guard assets with the governor. He also found that the conditions necessary to allow unilateral action, such as a rebellion or violent insurrection, had not been met.
“The protest in Los Angeles fall far short of rebellion,” Breyer wrote, referring to a wave of anti-immigration enforcement protests.
More specifically, Breyer stated that Trump’s “actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution defines the powers of the federal and state governments.
However, Breyer’s ruling was quickly put on hold by the Ninth Circuit, which issued a pause within hours of the original decision.
President Trump has already taken to social media to celebrate the latest victory, hurling petty insults such “Newscum” at the governor of the country’s most populous state and largest economy.
“BIG WIN in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the President’s core power to call in the National Guard!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The Judges obviously realized that Gavin Newscum is incompetent and ill prepared [sic].”
“This is much bigger than Gavin, because all over the United States, if our cities, and our people, need protection, we are the ones to give it to them should state and local police be unable, for whatever reason, to get the job done,” Trump added.
The appeals court ruling did not dismiss Newsom’s lawsuit or any of its most critical elements. Nevertheless, the judges acknowledged that some federal agents have been injured in the protests and, as a general rule, courts should be “deferential” to the president on issues of military management.
National Public Radio notes that Trump’s use of the National Guard marks the first time in 60 years that a president has seized control of a state’s reserves over a governor’s objections.
Newsom has promised to continue pushing back against the White House.
“The fight doesn’t end here,” he said in response to the ruling. “The President is not a king and is not above the law.”
Sources
An appeals court backs Trump’s control of the California National Guard for now
US court allows Trump to keep control of California national guard while lawsuit proceeds
