Gov. Newsom Sues Federal Government For Activating The California National Guard Without His Ok

During an MSNBC interview late on Sunday, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he will be suing the federal government over President Donald Trump activating the National Guard without his approval, with the Governor then going on to do so along with Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday.

According to Newsom, the move by Trump to activate the National Guard to help quell the ICE immigration raid protests and riots in Los Angeles without his ok is unconstitutional and illegal. Specifically he pointed out how, in Trump’s own executive order issued Saturday, national guard deployments needed to be coordinated with the Governor. This was something Trump did not do.

“Donald Trump has created the conditions you see on your TV tonight,” said Newsom. “He’s exacerbated the conditions. He’s, you know, lit the proverbial match. He’s putting fuel on this fire, ever since he announced he was taking over the National Guard — an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act.

“And we’re going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow. [The Executive Order] specifically notes — and under what the Department of Defense did — is they had to coordinate with the governor of the state. They never coordinated with the governor of the state.

“We have no problem, working collaboratively in a mutual aid system with local law enforcement. But there’s a protocol, there’s a process. He didn’t care about that. And the worst part, he completely lied. It’s Orwellian — simply lying to people, unconstitutional, illegal act, his mess. We’re trying to clean it up.”

On Monday morning, an X post by Newsom confirmed that he would be suing the federal government.

“This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted,” posted Newsom. “He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard. The order he signed doesn’t just apply to CA. It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing. We’re suing him.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also weighed in on the matter.

“This morning, President Trump deployed the National Guard into Los Angeles. Deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids is a chaotic escalation,” added Bass in a statement.

“The fear people are feeling in our city right now is very real – it’s felt in our communities and within our families and it puts our neighborhoods at risk. This is the last thing that our city needs, and I urge protestors to remain peaceful. I’ve been in touch this morning with immigrant rights leaders as well as local law enforcement officials. Los Angeles will always stand with everyone who calls our city home.”

In addition, Governor Newsom also responded to ICE Director Tom Homan’s comments about possibly arresting him and Mayor  Bass.

“I’ll say it about anybody, said Homan late on Saturday. “You cross that line, it’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.”

While Homan somewhat backpedaled on the comments on Monday while still not ruling out a possible arrest, President Trump confirmed that he wouldn’t be against the action either.

“I would do it. I think it would be a great thing,” explained Trump on Monday.

In regard to Homan’s comment, Newsom virtually dared Homan to arrest him.

“Come after me, arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy, you know? I don’t give a damn. But I care about my community. I care about this community,” expressed Newsom in the same MSNBC interview. “The hell are they doing? These guys need to grow up. They need to stop, and we need to push back. And I’m sorry, to be so clear, but that kind of bloviating is exhausting. So, Tom, arrest me. Let’s go.”

However, regarding Trump’s comment Monday, the Governor was aghast at Trump’s response.

“The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor,” posted Newsom. “This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”

Despite Newsom’s insistence that his actions were illegal, Trump defended himself in activating the National Guard later on Monday, saying that they were needed in Los Angeles to help quell riots.

“We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California,” said Trump on Truth Social. “If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated. The very incompetent “Governor,”  Gavin Newscum, and “Mayor,” Karen Bass, should be saying, “THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR.” Instead, they choose to lie to the People of California and America by saying that we weren’t needed, and that these are “peaceful protests.” Just one look at the pictures and videos of the Violence and Destruction tells you all you have to know. We will always do what is needed to keep our Citizens SAFE, so we can, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

This all led to Governor Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta formally suing the President by saying that federally activating the National Guard violates the tenth amendment, as well as goes against Trump’s earlier executive order.

“In the early hours of Sunday morning, the U.S. Department of Defense, at the direction of the President, redirected hundreds of National Guard troops from San Diego to Los Angeles, without authorization from the Governor and against the wishes of local law enforcement,” read the notice. “In total, the Department intends to deploy 2,000 troops from across the state, an inflammatory escalation unsupported by conditions on the ground. In a lawsuit being filed today, Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsom will ask the court to hold unlawful and set aside the President’s order federalizing the National Guard by way of a rarely used law, arguing that such action exceeds the federal government’s authority under the law and violates the Tenth Amendment.”

“President Trump’s order calling federalized National Guard troops into Los Angeles – over the objections of the Governor and local law enforcement – is unnecessary and counterproductive,” explained Bonta in his statement. “It’s also deeply unfair to the members of the National Guard who are hard at work every day protecting our state, preparing for and responding to emergencies, and training so that, if called, they can fight our nation’s wars. 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.”

As of Monday afternoon, Trump has yet to comment on the lawsuit being made official. However, the White House did respond to the threat of the lawsuit earlier in the day.

“President Trump rightfully stepped in to restore law and order because of Gavin Newsom’s feckless leadership and his refusal to stop the violent attacks on American law enforcement,” said White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. “It’s a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,” Jackson added. “Everyone saw the chaos, violence, and lawlessness – unless, of course, Gavin Newsom doesn’t think any of that is a problem.”

While not noted by Trump, Newsom, or Bonta, Newsom’s arguments about the National Guard being scrambled by the President directly haven’t been totally on base. There is precedent for it happening, with the Governors of each respective state not suing when it happened. The last time this was done was in 1965, when then-President Lyndon B. Johnson activated the Alabama National Guard to help protect Civil Rights activists during the Selma march. Such prior action will likely damper the upcoming legal battle over the National Guard deployment.