A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to withdraw National Guard members from Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Judge Charles R. Breyer found “no evidence” that troops were needed six months after protests over immigration ended. Breyer ruled that control of the Guardsmen still in Los Angeles must be transferred to Gov. Gavin Newsom. A gradual withdrawal has been taking place since July.
“The Founders designed our government to be a system of checks and balances,” Breyer wrote. “Defendants, however, make clear that the only check they want is a blank one.”
In his ruling, Breyer said that the use of the National Guard by the Trump administration constituted a “national police force made up of state troops.”
“Six months after they first federalized the California National Guard, Defendants still retain control of approximately 300 Guardsmen, despite no evidence that execution of federal law is impeded in any way—let alone significantly,” Breyer wrote.
Newsom blasted Trump for deploying the Guard “against the very communities they took an oath to serve.”
“Today’s ruling is unmistakably clear: the federalization of the California National Guard must end,” Newsom wrote on X.
California Attorney General Rob Banta agreed with Breyer’s assessment, accusing Trump of creating “a traveling national police force.”
“For more than five months, the Trump Administration has held California National Guard troops hostage as part of its political games. But the President is not king,” Bonta said in a statement.
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The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision.
“President Trump exercised his lawful authority to deploy National Guard troops to support federal officers and assets following violent riots that local leaders like Newscum refused to stop,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement. “We look forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”
