A federal appeals court has temporarily paused a lower court order that blocked President Trump from deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles. The decision came Tuesday evening from a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, granting an administrative stay pending further appeal.
The legal dispute began in June after US District Judge Charles Breyer, a Clinton appointee and brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, ruled that President Trump’s actions violated the Posse Comitatus Act. Judge Breyer ordered the Trump administration to return control of the National Guard to California following their deployment in response to violent riots in Los Angeles earlier this summer. At one point, 700 US Marines were mobilized and 4,000 National Guard troops were deputized to help address the unrest.
California Governor Gavin Newsom filed suit against President Trump, arguing that federalizing the National Guard violated the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution. Judge Breyer granted Newsom a temporary restraining order and later issued an injunction blocking further deployment.
In his ruling, Judge Breyer stated: “Almost three months after Defendants first deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles, 300 National Guard members remain stationed there. Moreover, President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have stated their intention to call National Guard troops into federal service in other cities across the country—including Oakland and San Francisco, here in the Northern District of California—thus creating a national police force with the President as its chief.”
The Trump administration appealed Judge Breyer’s decision earlier this summer. The Ninth Circuit’s recent administrative stay allows for continued federal involvement by temporarily suspending enforcement of Judge Breyer’s order while the appeal is considered.
