Appeals court rules Trump’s California National Guard deployment likely lawful

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled that President Donald Trump’s deployment of the California National Guard was likely lawful. Trump federalized control of the guard on June 7 despite California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s objections. The president sent roughly 4,000 troops to Los Angeles to protect federal immigration agents and buildings during protests and riots there. The 9th Circuit granted Trump a stay on a lower court’s temporary restraining order against him.

The 9th Circuit’s three-judge panel unanimously decided that Trump likely had the authority to deploy the troops under a provision of U.S. law that allows a president to do so in case of a rebellion against the federal government.

That law also says the deployment must be coordinated with state governors. The court said the Trump administration fulfilled that requirement by communicating with the Adjutant General of the California National Guard, who is authorized to give orders in the governor’s name. The court also rejected the Trump team’s argument that the president’s actions under the law should not be subject to judicial review.

The court did not rule on additional disagreements between the parties over how the troops are deployed.

How did Trump and Newsom react to the decision? The president said the ruling showed that he and the National Guard could protect Americans in similar situations, if state and local law enforcement weren’t able to do so.

Newsom said the court rejected Trump’s claim that he didn’t have to explain his use of the National Guard to judges. The president is not a king, Newsom said. The California governor said he would continue a legal challenge to what he characterized as an authoritarian use of the U.S. military against Americans.

Dig deeper: Read my report on an earlier stage of the case, including details on the lower court’s ruling against Trump.