Union members and supporters rally in Grand Park calling for the release of union leader David Huerta, who was arrested during an immigration enforcement action on June 9, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A federal judge in California late Thursday ordered President Donald Trump to relinquish command of 4,000 National Guard troops the president called to help contain Los Angeles protests over immigration raids.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said Trump’s mobilization of the National Guard was illegal, and ordered the return of control to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had opposed the deployment. He said his order would go into effect noon Pacific time Friday, likely setting up an emergency appeal by the administration.

Trump’s “actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Breyer wrote.

He issued the 36-page order mere hours after an afternoon hearing at which he appeared skeptical that Trump’s order was lawful.

Breyer at the hearing appeared not to accept the Trump administration’s argument that obtaining consent from Newsom, a Democrat, was not a prerequisite to federalize the California National Guard.

Newsom has been backed up by Democratic attorneys general across the nation in the closely watched case.

Breyer noted the law Trump cited when mobilizing the troops requires the order to go through a state’s governor, but Trump’s order bypassed Newsom and went directly to the adjutant general of the California National Guard.

“I’m trying to figure out how something is through somebody if, in fact, you didn’t give it to him, you actually sent it to the adjutant general,” Breyer said. “It would be the first time I’ve ever seen something going through somebody if it never went to them directly.”

‘A constitutional government and King George’

U.S. Justice Department attorney Brett Shumate, who argued for the administration, said Newsom’s approval was not necessary for the commander-in-chief to call National Guard troops into service.

“There’s no consultation requirement, pre-approval requirement,” he said. “The governor is merely a conduit. He’s not a roadblock. The president doesn’t have to call up the governor, invite them to Camp David, ‘Let’s have a summit, negotiate for a week about what are the terms that we’re going to call up the National Guard in your state, what are the terms of the deployment?’”

The president alone can determine whether the conditions allowing for the federalization of the National Guard are met, Shumate said.

But Breyer, who was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, said the president faced more limits on his authority than Shumate had argued.

“That’s the difference between a constitutional government and King George,” Breyer said.

Nicholas Green, who argued on behalf of the state, called the federal government’s argument “breathtaking in scope,” in part because the troops appear to be assisting in domestic law enforcement.

“They are saying, Your Honor, that the president, by fiat, can federalize the National Guard and deploy it in the streets of a civilian city whenever he perceives that there is disobedience to an order,” Green told Breyer. “That is an expansive, dangerous conception of federal executive power.”

Breyer seemed less opposed to Trump’s order to deploy 700 U.S. Marines to the area, noting those troops are not yet on the ground in Los Angeles and, as federal troops, were already under Trump’s command without needing to satisfy any other criteria.

Breyer’s order Thursday night did not direct any action regarding the Marines.

Pause requested

The judge, who is the brother of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, said he would rule quickly, possibly late Thursday, on California’s request for a restraining order to stop the deployment in Los Angeles.

Shuman requested that, if Breyer found in favor of the state, he should pause any restraining order while the federal government appeals.

Green said the state would “strongly oppose” such a pause because of the urgency of the situation in Los Angeles.

The city has seen days of protests starting on Friday over Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on workplaces. Trump ordered the National Guard to the area on Sunday, saying it was necessary to restore order.

Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass objected to the decision and have said it has caused more chaos and inflamed tensions.

Democrats’ amicus brief

The hearing on California’s request for an injunction came a day after 21 Democratic attorneys general and the Democratic governor of Kansas filed an amicus brief in the case backing up California.

Trump wresting control of a state National Guard sets a dangerous precedent that undermines National Guard missions, they said.

“National Guard troops fight fires, respond to hurricanes, protect their residents from flooding, and provide much-needed security,” they wrote. “By undermining states’ authority, unlawfully deploying the National Guard troops, and leaving the door wide open to deploy the Guards of every state, the President has made us all less safe. This Court should enjoin the federal government from continuing down this unlawful and perilous path.”

In addition to Kansas Gov. Laura Kelley, the attorneys general of Washington, Delaware, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Wisconsin and Rhode Island signed the brief.

Evers talks to reporters in March 2025. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner. )

Wisconsin Republicans considering running for governor in 2026 are criticizing Gov. Tony Evers for supporting California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he pushes back against President Donald Trump for sending armed troops into the state to respond to protests. 

As of Tuesday, President Donald Trump has authorized deployment of 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to Los Angeles as protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids continue in the southern California city. This is the first time in six decades that a president has called National Guard troops to respond to civil unrest without a governor’s request for help. The last time, in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights protesters.

Democratic governors, including Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, asserted their support for California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a joint statement Monday, saying that Trump’s actions were an “alarming abuse of power.”

“Governors are the Commanders in Chief of their National Guard and the federal government activating them in their own borders without consulting or working with a state’s governor is ineffective and dangerous,” the governors said. “Further, threatening to send the U.S. Marines into American neighborhoods undermines the mission of our service members, erodes public trust and shows the Trump administration does not trust local law enforcement. It’s important we respect the executive authority of our country’s governors to manage their National Guards — and we stand with Gov. Newsom who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation.”

The Los Angeles police have said they could handle the protests, which had been mostly peaceful, though some violence had occurred.

Newsom has said he is suing Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Department of Defense for taking over the California’s National Guard unit, saying it has “needlessly escalated chaos and violence in the Los Angeles region.” 

White House border czar Tom Homan has suggested that he would arrest Newsom, but he hadn’t “crossed the line” yet. Trump, asked about the idea of arresting Newsom, said that he would “do it.” After Trump appeared open to the idea, Homan said there is “no intention to arrest the governor right now.”  

Wisconsin Republicans are standing behind Trump’s actions in LA and connecting Newsom to Evers’ actions regarding ICE. 

In reaction to the governors’ statement, Wisconsin businessman and Navy veteran Bill Berrien, who is considering running for governor in 2026, issued a press release through his Never Out of the Fight PAC saying that Newsom and Evers are enabling the “invasion of illegal immigrants” and “violent protests.” Berrien formed the PAC in April to advance conservative causes and to help Republicans win federal, state and local elections.

“We should be condemning this violence but our governor is once again putting violent criminals above law-abiding citizens,” Berrien said. “I served as a Navy SEAL to protect our country. President Trump is right to step up and end this chaos.”

Josh Schoemann, the first GOP candidate to officially launch a 2026 campaign, responded to a social media post that said the Democratic governors were endorsing “lawlessness and chaos on American streets,” noting a memo on ICE that Evers sent to state employees with guidance on handling ICE, and declaring “Tony’s Gotta Go!!”

COVID Lockdowns
Kenosha Riots
ICE Obstruction Memo
Dem Guv Anti-Law & Order Pact

Tony’s Gotta Go!!! https://t.co/94E58PzpP7

— Josh Schoemann (@JoshSchoemann) June 9, 2025

Republicans have been critical of Evers for his handling of increased ICE activity in Wisconsin, including calling for him to be arrested when he stood by guidance that he gave to state employees to call a lawyer if ICE showed up at their office. Those calls came after Homan previously made comments that were interpreted as a threat to arrest Evers. 

Evers released a three-minute video following Homan’s vague threat, saying that it represents a “concerning trajectory in this country.” 

“We now have a federal government that will threaten or arrest an elected official — or even everyday American citizens — who have broken no laws, committed no crimes, and done nothing wrong,” Evers said in early May. “As disgusted as I am about the continued actions of the Trump Administration, I am not afraid. I have never once been discouraged from doing the right thing, and I will not start today.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies before the House Appropriations Committee's Defense Subcommittee at the U.S. Capitol on June 10, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Tuesday was the first time Hegseth testified before Congress since his confirmation hearings in January.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles will cost the federal government about $134 million, a Pentagon budget official said Tuesday, as the response to the protests further divided officials in California and Washington, D.C.

The situation in the country’s second-largest city captured the attention of lawmakers in the nation’s capital, even as the Republican-led Congress charted a path forward for the Trump-backed tax and spending cut bill.

Democrats in Congress on Tuesday warned the administration’s actions bordered on authoritarianism, while President Donald Trump said his intervention saved the city from destruction.

“If we didn’t send in the National Guard quickly, right now, Los Angeles would be burning to the ground,” Trump said in the Oval Office Tuesday.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, sought a restraining order blocking the 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines deployed to Los Angeles from assisting with domestic law enforcement. Trump ordered the troops to the city over Newsom’s and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ objections.

Budget question

Democrats on Capitol Hill criticized the administration over several aspects of the deployment, saying Trump was instigating violence, overstepping his authority and wasting taxpayer money.

At a previously scheduled Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing, Democratic Reps. Betty McCollum of Minnesota and Pete Aguillar of California asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth the financial cost of placing 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines in Los Angeles.

Hegseth, who is originally from Minnesota, declined to answer McCollum’s question directly, instead invoking the riots in Minneapolis following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020 and saying Trump sought to avoid similar chaos in Los Angeles.

“President Trump recognizes a situation like that, improperly handled by a governor, like it was by Gov. (Tim) Walz, if it gets out of control, it’s a bad situation for the citizens of any location,” he said.

When Aguillar asked a similar question about cost, Hegseth deferred to acting Pentagon comptroller Bryn MacDonnell, who estimated the current cost at $134 million, mainly for housing, travel and food. That money came out of existing operations and maintenance accounts, she said.

Hegseth told the panel the deployment was authorized for 60 days.

Just 2 miles away at the White House, though, Trump implied the decision could be more open-ended, saying during the Oval Office event that troops would stay in Los Angeles “until there’s no danger.”

“When there’s no danger, they’ll leave,” he said.

Restraining order

California’s federal lawsuit challenging the deployment, which state leaders filed Monday, includes a request for the court to issue a restraining order by 1 p.m. Pacific time Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer did not issue such an order by that deadline.

The administration intended to use the military personnel “to accompany federal immigration enforcement officers on raids throughout Los Angeles,” the request for a restraining order said.

“These unlawful deployments have already proven to be a deeply inflammatory and unnecessary provocation, anathema to our laws limiting the use (of) federal forces for law enforcement, rather than a means of restoring calm,” the state said.

“Federal antagonization, through the presence of soldiers in the streets, has already caused real and irreparable damage to the City of Los Angeles, the people who live there, and the State of California. They must be stopped, immediately.”

Democrats in California’s congressional delegation and members of the congressional caucuses for Black, Hispanic and Asian and Pacific Islander Democrats also blasted the administration’s role in inflaming the standoff between protesters and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who’d conducted recent raids on workplaces in the area.

“President Trump’s unlawful decision to deploy the National Guard onto the streets of Los Angeles is a reckless and inflammatory escalation, one designed not to restore calm, but to provoke chaos,” Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette D. Clarke said at a press conference.

“Let’s be clear about how this began: with peaceful protests sparked by the unlawful and inhumane targeting, detention and deportation of our immigrant neighbors.”

Clarke, a New York Democrat, said in response to a reporter’s question that she believed the sending in of troops constituted an impeachable act by Trump.

“I definitely believe it is, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” she said.

‘Met with force’

Other Democrats on Capitol Hill have said Monday and Tuesday that Trump engineered the conflict to distract from unpopular provisions of Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” and other issues.

“Donald Trump, cornered by his own failures – from pushing a heartless bill that would rip health care away from 16 million Americans, to raising costs from his reckless tariffs, to waging war with Elon Musk – Trump is desperately seeking a distraction,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor Tuesday.

“His order to deploy the National Guard and Marines – our own troops – on Americans is not just outrageous and provocative, it’s a dangerous authoritarian overreach that threatens the very fabric of our democracy.”

Rep. Jimmy Gomez led a press conference of California’s U.S. House Democrats Tuesday where he warned that the militarization in Los Angeles could happen elsewhere.

“If it can happen in Los Angeles, it can happen in any state in the union,” he said.

Later, at the Oval Office, Trump said protesters at his military parade on Saturday would be “met with very strong force.”

‘Tarred and feathered’

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Trump acted responsibly to protect Southern Californians and blamed Newsom for “failed leadership” that he said led to the clash this weekend.

Asked if, as Trump and White House border czar Tom Homan have suggested, Newsom should be arrested for interfering with immigration enforcement, Johnson initially demurred before suggesting an 18th-century punishment.

“I’m not going to give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested,” the Louisiana Republican said.

“But he ought to be tarred and feathered… He’s standing in the way of the administration and the carrying out of federal law. Right? He is applauding the bad guys and standing in the way of the good guys. He is trying to — he’s a participant, an accomplice — in our federal law enforcement agents being not just disrespected but assaulted.”

Johnson said House Republicans were fully behind Trump’s actions and deflected a question about if there was a point at which he would oppose the administration’s efforts.

“He is fully within his authority right now to do what he is doing,” Johnson said. “We have to maintain order.”

Demonstrators protest outside a downtown jail in Los Angeles following two days of clashes with police during a series of immigration raids on June 8, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump called for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to be arrested Monday and dispatched Marines to Los Angeles, shortly after Trump’s mobilization this weekend of California National Guard troops to quell protests without the governor’s consent.

Protests of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ activity in Los Angeles sparked a weekend of conflict between protesters and federal agents downtown and in nearby Paramount, California. Newsom on Monday said California is suing the administration over the violation of its state sovereignty.

Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn that he endorsed the idea of White House border czar Tom Homan arresting Newsom. Homan had said elected officials could be arrested for impeding raids by ICE agents.

Newsom on Sunday challenged Homan, saying, “Come after me, arrest me, let’s get it over with, tough guy.”

“I’d do it if I were Tom,” Trump said when asked if Homan should arrest Newsom. “I think it’s great. Gavin likes the publicity…. He’s done a terrible job. I like Gavin Newsom, he’s a nice guy but he’s grossly incompetent, everybody knows.”

Newsom, a Democrat, has framed the conflict with the White House as a fundamental test of every state’s ability to self-govern.

“This is a preview for things to come,” he told the progressive podcast host Brian Tyler Cohen in a clip the governor’s X account shared Monday morning. “This isn’t about LA, per se. It’s about us today. It’s about you, everyone watching, tomorrow. I promise you. I mean, this guy is unhinged. Donald Trump is unhinged right now.”

Marines deploying

About 700 U.S. Marines will travel to Los Angeles as part of the federal response, according to the U.S. military, with the objective of “protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.” CNN first reported the Marines’ mobilization. The move could further aggravate the state-federal tension surrounding the protests.

That deployment followed Sunday’s mobilization by Trump of 2,000 California National Guard members, even as Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass vocally objected, saying the troops’ presence would only inflame the situation.

It marked the first time since 1965 — when President Lyndon Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights protesters — that a president deployed the National Guard to a state over the governor’s objections.

Trump has also not ruled out invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act to take greater operational control of the situation. He and allies have referred to the protesters as “insurrectionists” several times.

He told reporters Sunday night that he was not invoking the act, which allows the president to use the military domestically, saying a decision to do so would depend “on whether or not there’s an insurrection.” On Monday, he said “insurrectionists” were causing problems in California.

According to CalMatters, “protesters on Sunday faced off with police officers who fired dozens of less-lethal rounds attempting to disperse people in the streets surrounding the 300 North Los Angeles Federal Building.

“At least two self-driving vehicles were set on fire near the protest, and police continued to pepper the rally with rubber bullets well into the late afternoon.”

Law and order

Trump, who took hours on Jan. 6, 2021, to implore his supporters storming the U.S. Capitol to disperse, and later pardoned hundreds of people charged with crimes that day, has said repeatedly controlling the California protests is necessary to protect ICE agents and Californians from protesters.

Trump has called “law and order” a top priority and has floated extreme methods to preserve order.

Asked Sunday about what the bar should be for sending U.S. Marines to Los Angeles, he responded, “The bar is what I think it is.”

On X, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested Marines could be used in the situation.

“The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE,” he posted Sunday.

State sovereignty at issue

Newsom and other Democrats have called the deployment of National Guard troops a violation of state sovereignty.

Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta said they’d filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the move on 10th Amendment grounds. The Constitution’s 10th Amendment protects states’ rights.

“Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority. This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic,” said Newsom in a written statement announcing the suit.

“Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach. This is beyond incompetence — this is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy. It is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. We will not let this stand.”

A copy of the lawsuit was not immediately available Monday.

Newsom won backing from his Democratic colleagues across the country, including a Sunday statement from the Democratic Governors Association, a political group that includes every blue-state governor in the country.

“President Trump’s move to deploy California’s National Guard is an alarming abuse of power,” the governors said. “Governors are the Commanders in Chief of their National Guard and the federal government activating them in their own borders without consulting or working with a state’s governor is ineffective and dangerous. Further, threatening to send the U.S. Marines into American neighborhoods undermines the mission of our service members, erodes public trust, and shows the Trump administration does not trust local law enforcement.”

Republican governors saw the issue differently, backing Trump and praising his approach to law enforcement.

“Every Democrat governor just endorsed lawlessness and chaos on American streets,” the RGA said on social media in response to the DGA statement.

Republicans in Congress broadcast similar messages, describing the deployment as a step toward law and order.

“If Gavin Newsom won’t enforce the law, President Trump will,” Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin wrote on X.