The ongoing dispute between California Governor Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump escalated this week following an appellate court ruling that allows Trump to maintain control over National Guard troops deployed in Los Angeles. The current deployment includes more than 4,000 National Guard troops and nearly 700 active-duty Marines. Authorities mandated this move in the wake of public outcry sparked by ICE’s immigration raids.
Trump also deployed the military troops to violently suppress American citizens, falsely portraying these terrible authoritarian actions as needed to restore law and order. In a joint statement made via social media, blusterer-in-chief DeSantis hailed the appellate decision as a “BIG WIN.” He claimed that if state and local police are no longer able to protect cities and citizens that it becomes his responsibility to intervene.
Our president is not a king and is not above the law – as much as he may think he is. We will not let President Trump use his authoritarian state-surveillance tactics with US military soldiers against American citizens unchallenged.” — Gavin Newsom He focused on the continuing struggle between state and federal power. Almost immediately after the deployment, California’s leadership—Governor Jerry Brown and then-Attorney General Xavier Becerra—took action to challenge Trump’s deployments in court on constitutional grounds.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer initially decided that Trump had overstepped the law when he deployed the troops. He argued that Trump’s actions did not constitute “rebellion or insurrection.” With no immediate alternative available to federalize troops, this ruling temporarily stalled efforts to do so. The Ninth Circuit appellate panel would eventually rule that Trump had indeed provided sufficient evidence to justify the deployment. In return, he was granted almost unilateral control over the National Guard troops.
That appellate decision stayed the preliminary injunction granted by Breyer pending appeal. As a result, the California National Guard will remain under federal control while the lawsuit proceeds. Should similar circumstances develop in other parts of the country, the President’s administration has signaled that additional troop deployments are possible.