California Sues Trump Over National Guard Deployment

Officials say the president illegally federalized National Guard troops.

California National Guardsmen in Los Angeles on June 8, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

California officials on June 9 sued President Donald Trump over his federalization of National Guard troops.

Trump federalized troops over the weekend as riots broke out in Los Angeles County in opposition to arrests of illegal immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

He said, in a memorandum, “To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

Federal law enables the president to federalize Guard troops, which are typically under state command, if “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States” or if the United States “is invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation.”

Trump’s federalization was the first time the statute has been invoked since 1970, when President Richard Nixon federalized the Guard to deliver mail during a Postal Service strike, the California officials said.

Following Trump’s action, California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to rescind the deployment of the troops, but that has not happened. Instead, the military has activated hundreds of Marines and is sending them to Los Angeles and its environs.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement: “Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends. Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the President’s authority under the law—and not one we take lightly. We’re asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order.”

Newsom said that the federalization “is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”

“We will not let this stand,” he said.

The statute also says that orders when there is a rebellion or invasion “shall be issued through the governors of the States or, in the case of the District of Columbia, through the commanding general of the National Guard of the District of Columbia.”

In the lawsuit, the officials are asking the federal court in northern California to deem Trump’s action unlawful because Newsom did not consent. They say it violates the state’s sovereign control of its Guard.

Anna Kelly, White House deputy press secretary, told The Epoch Times via email: “Gavin Newsom should march back to his Attorney General’s office to prosecute the anti-ICE rioters who burned property and looted businesses in Los Angeles.”

“Newsom is more focused on saving face than protecting law enforcement and holding criminals accountable,” she said. “As the President said, Newsom should thank him for restoring law and order.”