In a significant decision that reverberates through California's power structures, President Donald Trump has been granted the authority to maintain control of the National Guard troops in Los Angeles by an appeals court, despite the dissent from local leaders and Governor Gavin Newsom. As protests over immigration raids escalate, the court's ruling stops a lower court's decision that had previously deemed Trump's action illegal, BBC News reported.
Thursday's verdict doesn't just simply uphold the federal power; it intricately dances around the delicate divides of jurisdiction. The three-judge panel admitted, as NBC News outlined, that they "must be highly deferential" to the President, concluding that "it is likely that the President lawfully exercised his statutory authority." Still, the same 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that this deference doesn't render Trump's decisions immune from judicial review.
On the ground, the deployment of the National Guard has been met with a mixture of resentment and relief. Trump has hailed the decision as a “BIG WIN... on the President’s core power”, NBC News reported, framing it as an endorsement of the federal government's ability to step in when local authorities fail to maintain order. In stark contrast, Governor Newsom's response underscored his resistance to the court's decision; he argued the President is "not a king and is not above the law", signaling a prolongation of the legal battle, as per a statement obtained by the Governor's Office.
Local opposition stems from fears of escalated tensions and overreach. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom have criticized Trump's move to deploy the National Guard without consent, with Newsom loudly proclaiming earlier on June 10, "Donald Trump, without consulting California law enforcement leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state's National Guard members to deploy on our streets illegally and for no reason," as reported by FOX 11. The scene recalls an era over half a century ago. The last time a president deployed the National Guard without gubernatorial consent was in 1965.
The decision also signals a potentially larger impact on the president's power to deploy soldiers within the United States, especially after Trump directed immigration officials to enforce deportations aggressively in other Democratic-led cities. The Department of Defense had earlier revealed plans to send an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to Southern California to assist with ICE raids, frustrating immigration advocates who have been fervently protesting, according to FOX 11.
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