Federal Judge Rules Trump’s National Guard Deployment in Los Angeles Was Unlawful
Former President Donald Trump is under renewed scrutiny after a federal judge ruled that his deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles during last month’s immigration protests violated the law. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer found that Trump had exceeded his authority by ordering federal troops into California without the consent of Governor Gavin Newsom.
The deployment followed days of protest outside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in Los Angeles, where demonstrators clashed with officers and disrupted operations. Trump claimed the move was necessary to prevent further unrest, stating that the city was “on the brink of chaos.” But Judge Breyer’s ruling made clear that such a decision required coordination with state leadership.
“The President cannot unilaterally deploy the National Guard within a state without its governor’s approval, unless a federal emergency is declared,” Breyer wrote in his opinion. “This action undermines the principles of federalism and violates both statutory and constitutional limits.”
The judge ordered the immediate return of control of the California National Guard to Governor Newsom and criticized the federal government’s legal rationale as “a troubling overreach.”
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