CA Court Showdown: 9th Circuit To Rule On Trump’s Use Of National Guard

A federal appeals court will decide Tuesday whether the Trump administration exceeded its authority by deploying California’s National Guard over the objections of state leaders.

The legal showdown between Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump will be heard by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco at noon.

Protests erupted last week amid a sweeping deportation push in California, prompting Trump to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the Los Angeles area — despite insistence by Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass that the state could manage the unrest.

At issue is the debate over who holds rightful authority over the National Guard. Tuesday's ruling will decide that.

Trump has claimed that Los Angeles protests signal rebellion in the streets while California's leaders say sending federal troops only inflames tensions. Newsom has also maintained that local police can handle protesters.

The case comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stayed a ruling by a federal judge last Thursday, which ordered Trump to return control of the guard to Newsom.

Newsom's celebration of the initial decision was short-lived.

"Our success today in court is a win for all Americans," he wrote in a statement Thursday.

"The President’s action to turn the military against its own citizens threatened our democracy and moved us dangerously close to authoritarianism."

But the 9th Circuit move to stay the ruling was a dramatic turn of events in a closely watched test of the president's powers. The appeals court's decision, in response to an emergency motion from the president, meant Newsom could not resume control of the Guard at noon last Friday as he had announced.

Last week, Newsom compared Trump to "failed dictators" of the past. He also called the president's arguments for the legal battle "terrifying" in a note to the panel of judges who will oversee Tuesday's hearing.

On Sunday, Trump took to social media to paint "radical left democrats" as "sick of mind" who "hate our country."

“We must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside,” he said.

The three judges that will hear the arguments Tuesday are comprised of two appointed by Trump and another by former President Joe Biden.

But Tuesday's legal battle may not be the last. On Friday, the lower court judge who originally ordered control be restored to Newsom will host a hearing on whether to issue an injunction to block the president from deploying the Marines and the Guard to LA.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement, according to Politico, that Trump “rightfully stepped in to protect federal law enforcement officers” when Newsom would not.

White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said Trump acted to squash the state's “costly, unrealistic, and tyrannical” climate policies, according to Politico.

While Trump's legal team argues that the president has full discretion over when to use the military, lower court judge Charles Breyer, who sided with Newsom last week said "his actions were illegal."

According to Breyer, Trump did not follow congressionally mandated procedure.

Breyer said the issue is "the president exercising his authority, and the president is, of course, limited. That's the difference between a constitutional government and King George."

The judge said Trump did not appear to have met a legal requirement that such orders must pass through the governor of the state involved.

After the first ruling, Newsom addressed Trump, demanding that the president end the "unnecessary militarization of Los Angeles now. Refusing to do so will only confirm your authoritarian tendencies. The country is watching."

Newsom also posted that Trump "is using brave American soldiers as props in his political performance. It's unconstitutional, it's immoral, and it's putting innocent lives at risk. This isn't leadership. It's a dangerous abuse of power."

"The Founding Fathers did not live and die to see that happen in this country for no reason whatsoever than vanity," he added.

The conflict between the Golden State and the White House reached unprecedented levels in recent weeks.

Many Democrats warned that the White House was dragging California to the brink of authoritarianism, pointing to Sen. Alex Alex Padilla's forcible removal from a press conference held by Homeland Security leader Kristi Noem and the arrest of union leader David Huerta.

Border Czar Tom Homan also publicly threatened to arrest anyone — Newsom included — who obstructed federal immigration operations.

“This is about an abuse of power. This is about a desire to cross red lines time and time again,” California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks said, according to Politico.

“We see that in other parts of the world,” Hicks said of Padilla being handcuffed after asking a question. “We don’t see that here. If there weren’t enough wake-up calls over the last week, that sure is one.”