Ninth Circuit rules Trump unlawfully federalized California National Guard, orders troops returned to Gov. Newsom

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Trump administration unlawfully federalized and deployed California National Guard troops in Los Angeles, affirming an order that blocks the deployment and requires the federal government to return control of the Guard to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

In a published 2-1 opinion in Newsom v. Trump, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said the administration exceeded the president’s authority under 10 U.S.C. Section 12406 and violated the Constitution. Judge Jennifer Sung wrote the court’s opinion, joined by Judge Eric D. Miller. Judge Mark J. Bennett dissented.

The dispute began in June 2025, when President Donald Trump invoked Section 12406 in response to disturbances in Los Angeles. According to the Ninth Circuit, Trump ordered 4,000 members of the California National Guard into federal service for 60 days, and the federalized Guard deployed in Los Angeles on June 8, 2025. California and Newsom sued, and on June 12, 2025, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer issued a temporary restraining order blocking the deployment and directing that control of the Guard be returned to the governor.

Section 12406 allows a president to call a state’s National Guard into federal service only in limited circumstances, including an invasion, a rebellion or danger of rebellion, or when the president is unable to execute federal law with regular military forces. The Ninth Circuit concluded those conditions were not met in Los Angeles, and that the administration therefore lacked statutory authority to keep the troops under federal control.

The appellate court also rejected the administration’s effort to dismiss or withdraw its interlocutory appeal — an appeal taken before the full case is finished in the trial court — and instead resolved the matter on the merits. That means the panel did not simply end the appeal on procedural grounds; it squarely upheld Breyer’s order blocking the deployment at issue.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the ruling a rebuke to the administration, saying, “Once again, the courts have rejected the Trump Administration’s attempts to circumvent the law for its own political agenda.” The decision is the latest in a broader fight over the use of federalized National Guard troops in U.S. cities; in December 2025, the Supreme Court left in place a lower-court order blocking a similar deployment to Chicago in Trump v. Illinois.