Appeals Court Blocks Order That Would Return Control Of National Guard To Newsom

Update: just hours after Clinton-appointed activist Judge Charles Breyer ordered Trump to relinquish control of California’s National Guard troops to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who sued to block Trump’s deployment earlier this week, a federal appeals court preserved President Donald Trump’s ability to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles, blocking for at least a few days a judge’s order that found the call-up illegal and unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Judge Breyer’s order just hours after he issued it, amid an urgent push from the Trump administration to vindicate Trump’s power as commander in chief.

The appeals court has overruled https://t.co/shic7aO9ph

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 13, 2025

The three-judge panel included Trump appointees Mark Bennett and Eric Miller, as well as Biden appointee Jennifer Sung. They set a Tuesday hearing on the matter, ensuring Trump’s deployment will remain in place at least into next week. 

🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: Trump is still Commander-in-Chief. pic.twitter.com/YEk4WeqBEJ

— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) June 13, 2025

Breyer had ruled earlier that the president’s deployment to Los Angeles amid immigration protests violated the law. The civil unrest accompanying those protests fall “far short of ‘rebellion,” the judge ruled, concluding that Trump’s attempt to equate the “sporadic” violence over the weekend to an organized uprising were specious.

On Saturday, Trump cited a federal statute allowing him to use the National Guard to suppress the “danger of a rebellion” or to “execute” federal laws when “regular forces” are unable to do so.

“While Defendants have pointed to several instances of violence, they have not identified a violent, armed, organized, open and avowed uprising against the government as a whole,” Breyer concluded in a 36-page opinion. “The definition of rebellion is unmet.”

The appeals court’s short-term block came after an urgent plea from the Trump administration for a ruling before midnight in Washington, saying Breyer’s decision represented a dangerous affront to Trump’s power as commander in chief to protect federal interests.

Newsom quickly celebrated the ruling, calling it a “big day for the Constitution” and said he was confident the ruling would withstand appeals. “The National Guard men and women will go back to their day jobs,” he said, describing their deployment as a detraction from their work on fire prevention, fentanyl trafficking and other state-led missions.

But just hours later the celebration suddenly ended. 

“Sir the National Guard is not under your control” pic.twitter.com/Ao9WSxUKmM

— Ryan Campbell (@Argyll_Campbell) June 13, 2025

The sweeping nature of Breyer’s decision could make it vulnerable on appeal. When the state’s lawyers filed an emergency motion Tuesday seeking Breyer’s intervention, they asked only for a temporary order prohibiting the federalized National Guard troops from engaging in law enforcement or accompanying immigration officers in the field. However, the judge ruled much more broadly, declaring Trump’s order federalizing the Guard to be unlawful and ordering that those forces be returned to California’s control.

In his order, Breyer agreed that some of the protests had been accompanied by unacceptable violence. But he said the law and Constitution require far more significant degrees of violence to justify deploying the military to enforce civil laws.

“The idea that protesters can so quickly cross the line between protected conduct and ‘rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States’ is untenable and dangerous,” the judge concluded.

In addition to ruling against Trump on the legality of the deployment, activist Judge Breyer snubbed the president’s attorneys by giving them only about 18 hours to comply or get relief from an appeals court, instead of the 48 hours the Justice Department requested.

The judge also framed his ruling as a temporary restraining order, which is a short-term block that’s not typically appealable. A DOJ attorney had asked Breyer to issue a preliminary injunction, which is a longer-lasting block but clearly subject to appeal. Justice Department lawyers have a mixed record convincing higher courts to take up appeals of the shorter-term orders, which are often issued on a skimpy factual record and with limited legal briefing.

* * * 

A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles, and has directed Trump to ‘return control of the California National Guard to Governor Newsom.’

BREAKING: Judge Breyer orders Trump to return control of the National Guard back to California, saying the call-up was illegal. https://t.co/RjvefxZKIm pic.twitter.com/yBT8w5ypzD

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) June 13, 2025

Judge Charles Breyer a Clinton appointee, issued his ruling late Thursday, after Newsom requested to immediately restrict the troops’ power on the ground, and suggested that at minimum, federal law required Trump to alert the governor’s office. 

Breyer repeatedly emphasized during a hearing earlier that Trump is exercising presidential authority – not that of a King (playing right into the current protests, of course). 

“That’s the difference between a constitutional government and King George,” said Breyer. ““It’s not that a leader can simply say something and then it becomes it. It’s a question of is a leader, a president or the governor, following the law as set forth in both the Constitution and statutes.”

“That’s what a president, a governor or any leader must act under. Otherwise, they become something other than a constitutional officer.“

Breyer also agreed with Newsom’s legal argument that Trump’s deployment was legally defective. 

That said, as Politico‘s Kyle Cheney points out, Breyer gave the Trump admin until Noon Friday, which “should be enough time for Trump to seek emergency appeal at the 9th Circuit and perhaps Supreme Court.”

Breyer stays his order until noon tomorrow, which should be enough time for Trump to seek emergency appeal at 9th Circuit and perhaps Supreme Court. https://t.co/RjvefxZcSO pic.twitter.com/AbXYVumPaE

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) June 13, 2025

Developing…