Appeals Court Says Trump Can Retain Control Of Calif. Guard For Now
Charlie Kirk Staff
06/13/2025

President Donald Trump just scored a major court victory over California Governor Gavin Newsom.
A federal appeals court has ruled that Trump can retain control of the California National Guard, blocking a lower court’s decision that tried to hand that authority to Newsom in the wake of violent anti-ICE riots.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency motion Thursday night from the Trump administration, temporarily halting a ruling from District Judge Charles Breyer, who had claimed Trump broke the law by deploying the Guard into Los Angeles.
Trump celebrated the win Friday morning on Truth Social.
“The Appeals Court ruled last night that I can use the National Guard to keep our cities, in this case Los Angeles, safe,” he said.
“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!!!”
A full hearing on the case is scheduled for Tuesday.
The decision marks the latest twist in the ongoing standoff between Trump and Newsom after riots erupted across Los Angeles County last weekend.
The chaos broke out after ICE began arresting illegal aliens, including day laborers at a Home Depot parking lot.
In response, Trump deployed thousands of Marines and National Guard troops, a move that Newsom immediately challenged in court.
L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell tried to distance his department from the military presence during an appearance on “CBS Mornings” Wednesday.
“That’s not our understanding. They have a different mission,” McDonnell said when asked if the Guard was helping with crowd control.
“They’re working in support of the federal agencies that are working with ICE on civil immigration enforcement and criminal immigration enforcement,” he explained.
“We don’t need the National Guard, and they are not here to help us right now.”
On Thursday, Judge Breyer sided with Newsom and accused Trump of violating the law.
“At this early stage of the proceedings, the Court must determine whether the President followed the congressionally mandated procedure for his actions. He did not,” Breyer wrote.
“His actions were illegal, both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
Breyer, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, went even further, accusing Trump of an “unlawful militarization” of Los Angeles and claiming his actions had a chilling effect on First Amendment rights.
But just hours later, the appeals court stepped in and blocked Breyer’s ruling.
For now, Trump remains in control of the National Guard, and the streets of Los Angeles remain under federal authority.
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