US appeals court rules Trump can keep control of California National Guard
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US appeals court rules Trump can keep control of California National Guard
A US appeals court has ruled the administration of President Donald Trump could keep control of National Guard troops in Los Angeles. A three-judge panel said Trump was within his rights earlier this month when he ordered 4,000 members of the National Guard into service for 60 days. The state of California had argued that Trump’s order was illegal because it did not follow the procedure of being issued through the governor. Last week, a lower court judge had ordered Trump to return control of the California National Guard to Newsom, saying the president’s decision to deploy them during protests over federal immigration detentions was “illegal” That decision by US District Judge Charles Breyer on June 12 prompted the appeal.
The decision on Thursday comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions in California’s largest city, which has become ground zero of Trump’s immigration crackdown across the US.
In a 38-page unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel said Trump was within his rights earlier this month when he ordered 4,000 members of the National Guard into service for 60 days to “protect federal personnel performing federal functions and to protect federal property”.
“Affording appropriate deference to the President’s determination, we conclude that he likely acted within his authority in federalising the National Guard,” the panel of the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeal said.
Trump, a Republican, had appointed two of the judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit panel while his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, had named the third, according to US media reports.
Last week, a lower court judge had ordered Trump to return control of the California National Guard to Newsom, saying the president’s decision to deploy them during protests over federal immigration detentions in Los Angeles was “illegal”. That decision by US District Judge Charles Breyer on June 12 prompted the appeal.
On Thursday night, Trump hailed the appeal court’s decision in a post on his Truth Social social media platform, calling it a “BIG WIN”.
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“All over the United States, if our Cities, and our people, need protection, we are the ones to give it to them should State and Local Police be unable, for whatever reason, to get the job done,” Trump wrote.
‘Not a king’
The state of California had argued that Trump’s order was illegal because it did not follow the procedure of being issued through the governor.
It was the first time since 1965 that a US president deployed the National Guard over the wishes of a state governor.
The judges said Trump’s “failure to issue the federalisation order directly ‘through’ the Governor of California does not limit his otherwise lawful authority to call up the National Guard”.
But they said the panel disagreed with the defendant’s primary argument that the president’s decision to federalise members of the California National Guard “is completely insulated from judicial review”.
“Nothing in our decision addresses the nature of the activities in which the federalized National Guard may engage,” it wrote in its opinion.
Newsom could still challenge the use of the National Guard and Marines under other laws, including the bar on using troops in domestic law enforcement, it added.
The governor could raise those issues at a court hearing on Friday in front of Breyer, it also said.
In a social media post after the decision, Newsom promised to pursue his challenge.
“Donald Trump is not a king and not above the law,” he wrote.
“Tonight, the court rightly rejected Trump’s claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court.
“We will not let this authoritarian use of military soldiers against citizens go unchecked.”
LA protests: US court allows Trump to keep control of California national guard while lawsuit proceeds
A US appeals court has let Donald Trump retain control over California’s national guard. Governor Gavin Newsom is challenging the legality of the Republican president’’s use of the troops to quell protests and unrest in Los Angeles. A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th US circuit court of appeals on Thursday extended a pause it had placed on US district Judge Charles Breyer’S 12 June ruling that Trump had called the national guard into federal service unlawfully. Breyer has not yet ruled on the legality. of the Marine Corps mobilization. Trump sent 4,000 troops against the wishes of Newsom and deployed 700 US marines to the city after sending in the national Guard.
A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th US circuit court of appeals on Thursday extended a pause it had placed on US district Judge Charles Breyer’s 12 June ruling that Trump had called the national guard into federal service unlawfully.
Breyer’s ruling was issued in a lawsuit against Trump’s action brought by governor Gavin Newsom.
Breyer ruled that Trump had violated the US law governing a president’s ability to take control of a state’s National Guard by failing to coordinate with the governor, and also found that the conditions set out under the statute to allow this move, such as a rebellion against federal authority, did not exist.
Breyer ordered Trump to return control of California’s national guard to Newsom. Hours after Breyer acted, the 9th circuit panel put the judge’s move on hold temporarily.
Amid protests and turmoil in Los Angeles over Trump’s immigration raids, the president on June 7 took control of California’s national guard and deployed 4,000 troops against the wishes of Newsom. Trump also ordered 700 US marines to the city after sending in the national guard. Breyer has not yet ruled on the legality of the Marine Corps mobilization.
At a court hearing on Tuesday on whether to extend the pause on Breyer’s decision, members of the 9th circuit panel questioned lawyers for California and the Trump administration on what role, if any, courts should have in reviewing Trump’s authority to deploy the troops.
The law sets out three conditions under which a president can federalize state national guard forces, including an invasion, a “rebellion or danger of a rebellion” against the government or a situation in which the US government is unable with regular forces to execute the country’s laws.
The justice department has said that once the president determines that an emergency that warrants the use of the National Guard exists, no court or state governor can review that decision.
Trump’s decision to send troops into Los Angeles prompted a national debate about the use of the military on US soil and inflamed political tensions in the second most-populous US city.
The protests in Los Angeles lasted for more than a week, but subsequently ebbed, leading Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass to lift a curfew she had imposed.
California argued in its June 9 lawsuit that Trump’s deployment of the national guard and the marines violated the state’s sovereignty and US laws that forbid federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement.
The lawsuit stated the situation in Los Angeles was nothing like a “rebellion.” The protests involved sporadic acts of violence that state and local law enforcement were capable of handling without military involvement, according to the lawsuit.
The Trump administration has denied that troops are engaging in law enforcement, saying that they are instead protecting federal buildings and personnel, including US immigration and customs enforcement officers.
The 9th circuit panel is comprised of two judges appointed by Trump during his first term and one appointee of Democratic former president Joe Biden.