Appeals Court Hands Control Of CA National Guard Back To Trump

Former President Donald Trump expressed gratitude after an appeals court allowed him to continue deploying the California National Guard in Los Angeles. On his Truth Social page, Trump wrote that the court’s decision ensured the city’s safety. “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!!!” he posted.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay on a lower court ruling that had temporarily limited Trump’s authority to federalize the Guard for purposes beyond protecting federal property and personnel. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer had ruled that the federalization violated the 10th Amendment and exceeded presidential authority, ordering the Guard returned to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

The ruling came after California filed a lawsuit against Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the Department of Defense. The state sought to restrict the Guard’s role to federal operations and challenged the president’s authority to deploy troops without the governor’s consent.

As the legal debate unfolded, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Trump, citing a supposed “Article 10” of the Constitution, which does not exist. Pelosi claimed it restricted presidential authority over the National Guard, though she appeared to conflate the Constitution with Title 10 of the United States Code, which governs federal use of the Guard.

The appeals court issued a prompt stay of Breyer’s order and scheduled a hearing, leaving the question of presidential authority in California unresolved for the moment…

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