Ninth Circuit Court Rulings Reject California National Guard Deployment
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the federalization of 4,000 California National Guard members in the Los Angeles area by the Trump administration was an unlawful abuse of authority. The 2-1 decision issued by a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco follows a December U.S. Supreme Court precedent holding that a similar federalization of the Illinois National Guard was illegal.
The panel rejected the administration’s argument that a “rebellion” in Los Angeles warranted taking control of the state troops from Gavin Newsom. Writing for the majority, Judge Jennifer Sung stated that the defendants failed to meet required threshold showings and did not carry their burden. Dissenting Judge Mark Bennett argued the panel should not have ruled because the administration sought to drop its appeal against a lower court preliminary injunction.
Court Rejects Claim That Deployment Is Insulated from Review
The 9th Circuit previously agreed that the president acted within the law when calling troops into federal service for 60 days to protect federal personnel and property. However, Friday’s ruling rejected the administration’s claim that the deployment decision was insulated from judicial review. The court found the actions did not fall within a range of honest judgment regarding a rebellion.
“Today is a crucial day for the rule of law, upholding the Constitution and defending democracy,” Gavin Newsom said in a statement. California Attorney General Rob Bonta added that deploying the guard with no rhyme or reason was a clear example of federal overreach.
Justice Department Does Not Respond to Request for Comment
The U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment after regular business hours. It remains unclear what specific administrative steps federal authorities will take next following the rejection of their authority to keep the California National Guard under federal control.
More on California National Guard
A federal trial court’s preliminary injunction order preventing the Trump administration’s deployment of the California National Guard in Los Angeles last year was upheld by an appeals court Friday. https://t.co/U4Wjhy86SY
A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump lacked legal authority to federalize 4,000 California National Guard troops in June 2025 and deploy them to Los Angeles to tackle civil unrest.The Ninth Circuit panel rejected the government’s characterization of…