Judge Orders Trump to Return California National Guard Troops to Newsom

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to stop deploying California National Guard troops in Los Angeles and to return control of them to Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to CBS News and NBC News.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction sought by California officials. It was his second ruling against the administration’s effort to take control of the state’s Guard under Title 10 of federal law, CBS reported. He paused the order until Monday, likely to give the Justice Department time to appeal.

The case arises from orders Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued in August and October that kept about 300 California Guard troops in federal service. The October order sent 200 to Oregon and 100 to locations around Los Angeles, CBS said. NBC reported that only about 100 troops remain in the Los Angeles area, down from the more than 4,000 originally called up, and that the administration extended the deployment until February. The troops are set to remain in federal service through Feb. 2, according to CBS.

In his 35-page order, Breyer wrote that there was no evidence the execution of federal law had been hindered “in any way,” and criticized the government’s position: “The Founders designed our government to be a system of checks and balances. Defendants, however, make clear that the only check they want is a blank one.” He accused the administration of “effectively creating a national police force made up of state troops” by sending California Guardsmen to other states, including Oregon and Illinois, CBS reported.

The administration’s argument, as NBC described it, is that courts cannot second-guess the president’s determination that violence during the June protests made it impossible to execute U.S. laws with regular forces and reflected a rebellion or danger of one. Justice Department lawyers said Guard members are still needed in the Los Angeles area to protect federal personnel and property, according to NBC. The White House did not immediately comment on the ruling, NBC said.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta welcomed the decision. “Once again, a court has firmly rejected the President’s attempt to make the National Guard a traveling national police force,” he said, adding, “the President is not King,” according to CBS.

The history is long. Trump first called up the California Guard in June after protests over immigration raids in the Los Angeles area, the first time in decades that a state’s Guard was activated without a governor’s request, NBC noted. Breyer issued a temporary restraining order, and an appeals court panel put his decision on hold. In September, after a trial, Breyer ruled that the deployment violated the law, NBC said. Other judges have also blocked deployments of Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, NBC reported.