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A U.S. federal appeals court ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump can continue using federalized National Guard troops to respond to immigration-related protests in Los Angeles, overturning a lower court decision that had ordered the troops returned to California state control.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a unanimous 38-page decision allowing Trump to maintain federal control of California's National Guard over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom. The three-judge panel concluded that conditions in Los Angeles justified the president's rarely used authority to federalize state Guard units.
"Affording appropriate deference to the president's determination, we conclude that he likely acted within his authority in federalizing the National Guard," the court wrote in an unsigned opinion.
The ruling reversed a San Francisco federal judge's order from last week that had found the protests were not severe enough to warrant federal intervention. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer had concluded Trump lacked sufficient justification to invoke the federal statute allowing him to take control of state National Guard units.
The appeals panel included two Trump appointees, Judges Mark J. Bennett and Eric D. Miller, along with Judge Jennifer Sung, who was appointed by former President Biden. During Tuesday's 65-minute hearing, all three judges had signaled they were inclined to allow Trump to retain control of the Guard while litigation continues.
Trump praised the decision Monday, saying it supported his argument to deploy National Guard troops "all over the United States" when local law enforcement cannot handle situations effectively.
California Governor Gavin Christopher Newsom responded Thursday by emphasizing that the appeals court had rejected the Trump administration's broader argument that presidential decisions to federalize National Guard units cannot be reviewed by federal judges.
"The president is not a king and is not above the law," Newsom said in a statement. "We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump's authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens."
The Trump administration had argued that courts lack the authority to review such presidential decisions under the federal statute, which allows intervention when rebellion or other circumstances impede the enforcement of federal law. However, the appeals court declined to adopt that position.
Supreme Court precedent "does not compel us to accept the federal government's position that the president could federalize the National Guard based on no evidence whatsoever, and that courts would be unable to review a decision that was obviously absurd or made in bad faith," the court wrote.
The judges determined that violent actions by some protesters had hindered immigration enforcement activities, providing sufficient grounds for judicial deference to Trump's decision.
The court also rejected California's argument that the federalization order was procedurally flawed because Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent directives to a National Guard general rather than directly through the governor, as the statute requires. The panel ruled that the general served as Newsom's agent, satisfying the legal requirement.
The case returns Friday to Judge Breyer's San Francisco courtroom, where he will consider issuing a preliminary injunction that could restrict how Trump deploys approximately 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 active-duty Marines in Los Angeles.
California is seeking to limit federal troops to guarding federal buildings and prevent them from accompanying Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on workplace raids that sparked the original protests. That request centers on the Posse Comitatus Act, a 19th-century law that generally prohibits using military forces for domestic law enforcement.
The Trump administration contends the troops are not performing law enforcement duties but rather protecting civilian immigration agents conducting arrests of undocumented migrants.
Hegseth suggested Wednesday he might not comply with adverse lower court rulings, telling senators he doesn't "believe district courts should be setting national security policy."
Conditions in Los Angeles have stabilized over the past week. Mayor Karen Bass ended the downtown curfew Tuesday, saying local law enforcement efforts have been "largely successful" at restoring order.
California officials have maintained throughout the dispute that local and state police could handle the protests without federal military intervention. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Trump indicated he remains prepared to deploy troops wherever violent protests occur.
"We did a great job. We quelled that thing," Trump said of the Los Angeles demonstrations. "And the fact that we are even there thinking about going in, they won't bother with it anymore. They'll go someplace else. But we'll be there, too. We'll be wherever they go."
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