Appeals Court Halts Judge’s Ruling Ordering Trump To Return National Guard Control To California

An appeals court has temporarily blocked a federal judge’s order to return control of the National Guard to California.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer had ordered President Donald Trump to relinquish his control of the 4,000 troops deployed to L.A. by Friday afternoon local time.

The deployment exceeded Trump’s statutory authority, violated the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and was illegal, Breyer said.

But the White House immediately launched an appeal, and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the lower court’s order just hours later, AP reports.

There will be a further hearing on the matter on Tuesday, meaning Trump will hold control of the troops until then.

“The Appeals Court ruled last night that I can use the National Guard to keep our cities, in this case Los Angeles, safe,” Trump said Friday.

“If I didn’t send the Military into Los Angeles, that city would be burning to the ground right now. We saved L.A. Thank you for the Decision!!!”

It comes amid large-scale anti-ICE protests that erupted across L.A. last week in response to ongoing immigration raids.

As well as the National Guard, Trump mobilized 700 active-duty Marines to the city. Their deployment was not subject to a court ruling, as they have yet to be mobilized on the streets.

California Governor Gavin Newsom had welcomed the earlier court decision granting his motion for a temporary restraining order.

“The court just confirmed what we all know: The military belongs on the battlefield, not on our city streets,” he posted on X.

“End the unnecessary militarization of Los Angeles now, @realDonaldTrump. Refusing to do so will only confirm your authoritarian tendencies.”

In a press conference after the ruling, Newsom said the order made it clear that Trump was not above constitutional constraints.

“I’m gratified by the order—by [Breyer’s] decision. Today was really about a test of democracy and today we passed the test – we the people passed the test,” he told reporters.

“Clearly, there’s no invasion. There’s no rebellion. It’s absurd,” he later added. “And so we’re gratified. Today is a big day for the Constitution.”

The White House immediately hit back at the decision and said the court had no authority to return control of the National Guard to Newsom.

“The district court has no authority to usurp the President’s authority as Commander in Chief,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement.

“The President exercised his lawful authority to mobilize the National Guard to protect federal buildings and personnel in Gavin Newsom’s lawless Los Angeles.

“The Trump Administration will immediately appeal this abuse of power and looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”

Newsom had sued the Trump administration for sending the National Guard to L.A. without his approval, the first time a president has done so since 1965.

California then filed for a temporary restraining order to block the deployment.

Trump sent troops to L.A. by utilizing an authority called Title 10, which allows for the federalization of the National Guard under limited circumstances.

One circumstance refers to when “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government.”

In his ruling, Breyer said the protests in L.A. did not measure up to the definition of “rebellion.”

“The protests in Los Angeles fall far short of ‘rebellion,’” he wrote.

Ahead of the hearing on Thursday, the Justice Department had filed a brief arguing Trump’s orders were not subject to judicial review, AP reported.

“Courts did not interfere when President Eisenhower deployed the military to protect school desegregation. Courts did not interfere when President Nixon deployed the military to deliver the mail in the midst of a postal strike. And courts should not interfere here either,” the department said.

U.S. government attorney Brett Shumate also told the judge: “Our position is this is not subject to judicial review.”

Extensive Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids at workplaces in and around Los Angeles over the weekend sparked the mass protests.

Newsom has accused Trump of inflaming tensions and making the situation worse by deploying the National Guard, insisting local law enforcement had it under control.

As of Wednesday, more than 220 people had been arrested in connection with violent protests, and this figure is expected to rise.