In a significant win for the administration, an appeals court ruled in favor of President Trump, as he can maintain control of National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles amid immigration raids.
Read the tweet below this post.
Three Trump-appointed judges determined the President acted lawfully in federalizing troops despite Governor Gavin Newsom’s objections, affirming Trump’s authority to protect federal personnel and property when local forces fail.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling overturned a lower court decision that had found Trump’s unilateral activation of troops illegal.
Approximately 4,000 National Guard troops, including 700 Marines, remain deployed in Los Angeles following the verdict that upholds presidential authority during civil unrest.
Evidence of violent acts by protesters proved crucial in the court’s decision. It noted:
“The undisputed facts demonstrate that before the deployment of the National Guard, protesters ‘pinned down’ several federal officers and threw ‘concrete chunks, bottles of liquid, and other objects’ at the officers. Protesters also damaged federal buildings and caused the closure of at least one federal building.”
Trump celebrated the ruling as a “big win” on social media, declaring:
“This is much bigger than Gavin [Newsom], 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.”
The court’s decision represents the first time since the civil rights era, over 50 years ago, that a president has successfully deployed National Guard troops without a governor’s consent.
This landmark ruling could significantly impact the president’s power to deploy troops within Democrat-run cities experiencing unrest.
All three judges on the appeals panel determined that even if the federal government failed to notify Governor Newsom as required by law, he could not veto the president’s order.
The court also emphasized that “the federal government’s interest in preventing violence is significant,” effectively prioritizing national security over state objections.
The case began when Newsom sued to block Trump’s order after the President deployed troops in response to protests against his immigration policies.
Breaking News: A federal appeals court let President Trump keep using the National Guard to respond to immigration protests in Los Angeles, rejecting a lower court’s ruling. https://t.co/poupgosFX3
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 20, 2025
Judge Charles Breyer initially sided with Newsom, ruling that Trump overstepped his authority, which Breyer claimed is limited to times of “rebellion or danger of a rebellion.”
Furthermore, the Trump administration successfully argued that courts should not second-guess presidential decisions in matters of national security.
The appeals court agreed, concluding Trump likely acted lawfully in federalizing the National Guard to protect federal immigration agents and property during the raids.
While Governor Newsom continues to criticize the deployment as unnecessary and wasteful, the protests have diminished since the National Guard arrived.
Control of the California National Guard will remain with the federal government as litigation proceeds, marking a significant victory for presidential authority and the protection of law and order in America’s cities.
