Judge to consider California's request for restraining order against Trump over use of troops in LA
A federal judge on Thursday is expected to hear arguments over the request of the California governor, Gavin Newsom, for a temporary restraining order to block Donald Trump from deploying national guard troops and marines to suppress protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles.
The hearing, set for 4.30pm ET in federal district court in San Francisco, comes after the presiding judge, Charles Breyer, a Bill Clinton appointee, earlier declined to grant an immediate injunction against the administration.
The request for the restraining order is part of a lawsuit filed by the state of California challenging Trump's move to call up more than 4,000 national guard troops and about 700 active-duty marines based at Twentynine Palms in California over Newsom's objections.
The complaint is largely aimed at the legitimacy of Trump's order. It sought a judicial declaration to nullify the order and to make clear that it was unlawful for the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to bypass Newsom in federalizing the state's national guard forces in this instance.
The hearing is expected to focus on the Title 10 statute invoked by Trump, which allows the president to federalize the national guard if there is a 'rebellion or a danger of rebellion', or if the president is 'unable with regular forces to execute the laws of the United States'.
Although pockets of protests turned violent – some threw rocks at law enforcement vehicles and set alight a series of driverless Waymo cars – local authorities in Los Angeles county did not say they needed federal assistance.
The California attorney general, Rob Bonta, is expected to argue that Trump needed Newsom's approval or request for such a mobilization, and that there was no basis to bring in national guard forces because the protests did not rise to the level of a rebellion.
But the Trump administration has suggested that decision on whether to federalize the national guard was at the discretion of the president, and that federal courts cannot second-guess decisions by the executive branch as to whether the military was needed.
In its 29-page response to the lawsuit, the justice department also said Newsom was misrepresenting the situation because the military was always only going be used in a protective function and not to perform law enforcement functions.
The justice department cited memos from the office of legal counsel, written by William Rehnquist before he became chief justice of the United States, which suggested the military could be used to protect federal buildings from anti-war protesters during the Vietnam war.
The memos envisioned the president relying upon his inherent authority in the US constitution as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, possibly to get around the limitations of the Posse Comitatus Act, which makes it illegal for the military to perform a law enforcement function on domestic soil unless the president has invoked the Insurrection Act, which Trump has not. The memos have never been legally tested in court.
Sign up to This Week in Trumpland
A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration
after newsletter promotion
The justice department also contended that the Trump administration had complied with the statute in full with respect to the governor's putative role, because it had notified Newsom of Trump's intentions to deploy the national guard and marines before they were implemented.
Trump has been suggesting the idea of deploying troops against Americans since his first term, when some Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020 turned violent. He opted against doing so at the time, but has since expressed regret to advisers that he did not punish the protesters more aggressively.
Notably, during a campaign rally in 2023, Trump vowed to respond more forcefully if elected to a second term. 'You're supposed to not be involved in that, you just have to be asked by the governor or the mayor to come in,' he said of the president's usual role in deciding whether to send in the military. 'The next time, I'm not waiting.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
34 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘The most subversive thing you can do is read': 2025's best graduation speeches
America's higher education may be under attack from the federal government – but students from the class of 2025 still have to graduate. And so commencement season, somehow, occurred, with the world's best and brightest politicians, entertainers and athletes, plus a frog, presenting their hard-earned wisdom. From Percival Everett to Simone Biles to President Trump himself, here are 10 lessons we've learned from the year's graduation speeches. Elizabeth Banks advised her fellow University of Pennsylvania grads not to put too much stock in pie metaphors. The biggest division in this country, the comedy actor and director said, was economic, with vast wealth concentrated in the hands of a small number of people. But they don't have a monopoly on the future. 'I can understand why you believe that life is a zero-sum game,' Banks said. 'If one person takes a bigger slice, everyone else has to take a smaller slice and the total size of the pie remains the same. And that is true with actual pie. But not with life. Not with opportunity. 'You're really only ever competing with yourself, with the limitations you're willing to accept, with the smallness of someone else's idea of what you're capable of. So stop competing and start beating the pie lie.' Unfortunately, one thing could stand in the way. 'The biggest derailment to the future you want to build is irresponsible ejaculation,' Banks warned. 'I know all the doctors on this stage with me agree that that is the cause of all unwanted pregnancy.' Everyone deserves to 'be able to determine whether, when and with whom you become a parent'. So, she said: 'Wrap it up. Keep abortion legal.' Levar Burton, the actor and TV host who inspired several generations of kids to read, brought his message to Howard University, where the crowd still knew the words to the Reading Rainbow theme song. At a dark time for America, he offered some hope. 'At every level, in every era as slaves and then as the descendants of slaves, we have challenged this nation to live up to the promise of its founding proposition that all men are created equal,' he said. 'In 2025, America is still addicted to its racism,' like 'an alcoholic who has yet to hit rock bottom'. Still, 'only in America could a descendant of slaves, for whom simply knowing how to read was once punishable by death, grow up and become a celebrated champion for literacy and the written word. This, too, is America. This is still a land of great promise and opportunity yet untold.' Burton said he only wished the country could live up to its original promise. 'To do that, she must shun the scourge of racist thinking and behaving and policymaking that holds this nation back. 'There's gonna be another day. You hear me? There's gonna be another day,' he told the crowd, referencing an ad-libbed line from the show Roots that lifted him to stardom. 'And even though the future may look uncertain, graduates … That day has arrived. This moment is yours to shape.' Speaking at Yale University, Jacinda Ardern noted the unexpected benefits of impostor syndrome and sensitivity. 'Self-doubt brings with it humility,' the former prime minister of New Zealand said. 'It drives you to seek information, to listen to experts who can teach you and advisers who can guide you.' And sensitivity – 'the thing that moves you to tears when you see the pain of others' – can 'be what drives you to action,' she added. 'In fact,' she said, 'all those traits that you might have believed your whole life were weaknesses – questioning yourself, the doubt that brings humility, or sensitivity that comes with empathy – may just be what the world needs more of.' At Bates College in Maine, the scholar and psychologist Angela Duckworth asked graduates and faculty to perform an excruciating experiment: handing their phones to the people next to them for a quarter of an hour. 'I want to talk about something that might seem trivial, but in fact has profound implications for your future success and happiness, something as consequential as your major or where you land your first job, and that's where you choose to keep your phone,' Duckworth said. Her research on goals and self-control had yielded a surprising conclusion, she said: 'Willpower is overrated. In study after study, psychologists like me have found that achieving what you want out of life has very little to do with forcing yourself to act in one way or another.' Instead, she said, successful people 'deliberately design their situations in ways that make wise choices easier' – a practice called 'situation modification'. Teenagers are spending eight hours a day looking at screens, she said. 'If you don't like how your phone grabs your attention, directs your thoughts, triggers your desires, then push it away. On the other hand, if you do want something to take up more of your conscious awareness, art, poetry, a really good novel, keep it as close as possible.' That goes for friends, too: 'Phones can connect us to people who are far away, but they can also separate us from the people right in front of us.' Percival Everett, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel James, gave a brief but stark call to action at Wesleyan University, describing this year's graduates as perhaps 'the last line of defense of and for American intellectual life'. Fascists, he said, burn books because 'they are afraid of thought'. Students, however, had learned to read – and not just books. 'You have learned to read the world, people, actions, conspiracies. You have learned to think for yourselves.' Everett called reading 'the most subversive thing you can do. When you read, no one knows what's going into you, even if they are reading over your shoulder, and they are.' His advice for graduates: 'I ask nothing more from you than to do what you have been doing. Go out into the fray and keep reading.' At his alma mater, the University of Southern California – known for producing Hollywood luminaries – the film-maker Jon M Chu emphasized the importance of a good story, especially at a time when it can feel like the world is falling apart. Right now, he said, familiar stories were disintegrating, and 'fear, blame, and division dominate our airwaves.' But instead of despairing, he added, this was 'a moment of profound opportunity. Because when the old stories fall apart, it means it's time to write a new one.' He continued: 'Whoever tells the best story holds the power. Your ability to understand, interpret, and ultimately shape stories is critically important no matter what you want to do.' Machines may be able to assess data and 'even create art, but they cannot authentically feel or intuitively connect. In whatever field you are in, your power to convey information in ways that emotionally connect will be more valuable than we even currently acknowledge.' Simone Biles is, of course, a top contender for the Greatest of All Time – but she told graduates at Washington University of St Louis that 'being the Goat was never the goal.' Instead, 'my goal was to be the greatest Simone Biles of all time.' Biles urged listeners to do the same: be the 'greatest you of all time' – and in the process, embrace failure. 'When you're reaching for things, you're going to fall short, and yes, sometimes you're going to fail,' she said. 'When – not if, but when – this happens to you, just learn from it, and move on to Plan B. If plan B doesn't work out, then make a Plan C, and then guess what – there's the rest of the alphabet. The key to success is the willingness to always find a way.' Graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point were treated to inspirational remarks by their commander-in-chief. Among other insights into the human condition, Donald Trump delved into questions of terminology, noting that the preferred term for people on the left is 'progressive' rather than 'liberal', and 'that's why I call them liberal'. He also questioned whether it was acceptable to say 'trophy wife', ultimately deciding that it was. Still, he cautioned against obtaining one. 'That doesn't work out too well, I must tell you,' he said as he regaled the newly minted officers with the life stories of the professional golfer Gary Player and real estate developer William Levitt. 'A lot of trophy wives – doesn't work out, but it made him happy for a little while at least. But he found a new wife. He sold his little boat and he got a big yacht,' Trump said of the latter. The president also pointed out that he won last year's election. At the University of Maryland – the alma mater of his creator, Jim Henson – Dr Kermit the Frog offered a sunny vision in challenging times. Life, he said, was about 'finding your people, taking the leap, and making connections'. 'Rather than jumping over someone to get what you want, consider reaching out your hand and taking the leap side by side. Because life is better when we leap together,' the frog advised. But, he warned biology majors: 'You're not going to get me to step foot inside your lab.' The physician and author Abraham Verghese spoke at Harvard University as it defends itself from the Trump administration's attempted crackdown on academia. Outrage over the government's actions, he said, should lead to new appreciation – 'appreciation for the rule of law and due process, which till now we took for granted', he said, as well as 'appreciation of actions that demonstrate thoughtfulness, decency, generosity, kindness, humility and service to community'. Verghese reflected on how, during the Aids epidemic, many young people returned to their home towns to spend their last days. 'Given the prevailing sentiments against gay people in small towns in the rural south, I found myself pleasantly surprised to find my patients were so well received by their families. They were cared for lovingly to the end. You see, love trumps all bigotry. Love trumps ideology.'
NBC News
37 minutes ago
- NBC News
Israel and Iran's airstrikes and National Guard deployment rulings: Morning Rundown
Israel targeted Iran's nuclear sites in an attack escalating the conflict between the two countries. An appeals court allows Trump's authority over National Guard troops in L.A. to remain for now. And the sole survivor in an India plane crash that killed everyone else on board isn't sure how he escaped, his family said. Here's what to know today. Israel strikes Iran's nuclear sites in major attack The Israeli military launched a series of airstrikes against Iran on Friday in a dramatic escalation of their long-running conflict, raising fears of another war in the Middle East. Among those killed in the strikes was Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, Iran's most senior military official, multiple Iranian state news outlets reported. Hossein Salami, the commander in chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, was also killed in an attack at the Tehran headquarters, as well as a top IRGC official and at least two nuclear scientists, Iranian state media reported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes were aimed at 'Iran's main enrichment facility' and scientists working on Iran's nuclear program, as well as targets associated with the country's ballistic missile program. Netanyahu claimed Iran posed a 'threat to Israel's very survival' and that its operation would continue 'for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.' The U.S. said it was not involved and was not providing assistance to Israel in the attacks. In fact, the Trump administration had been urging Israel to hold off on an attack as it continues talks with Iran on its nuclear program. Now, Israel's move appears to be a significant break with the Trump administration. And despite the U.S. denying its involvement in the attack, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggested the attack couldn't have happened 'without the coordination and approval of the United States.' Legal battle ensues over Trump's National Guard deployment President Donald Trump, for now, can keep control of the thousands of National Guard troops he deployed in response to immigration protests in Los Angeles, an appeals court ruled last night, pausing a lower court's order that found his actions to be unlawful. The decision from a three-judge panel in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came hours after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer issued a temporary restraining order that had been set to go into effect today, saying Trump's deployment of the troops was unlawful. While Breyer's order did not apply to the deployment of 700 Marines to L.A., the appeals court ruling does. The appeals court hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday. The legal battle over the federalization of National Guard troops in California comes nearly a week after ICE raids in the city sparked days of protests and stoked tensions between Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. After the lower court's ruling, Newsom said Breyer's decision showed Trump is not a 'monarch' and 'should stop acting like one.' Justice Department attorneys framed Breyer's ruling as an attack on Trump's presidential powers. Read the full story here. Meanwhile, tensions between the Trump administration and California leaders were also on display earlier Thursday when Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California was forcibly removed during Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's media event in L.A. related to immigration. 'I am Sen. Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,' Padilla told Noem, which prompted several men dressed in plainclothes to push him out of the room. Once taken to a hallway, Padilla was pushed onto the ground and handcuffed. Noem falsely said in an interview on Fox News that Padilla did not identify himself and he was 'lunging toward the podium.' Padilla, in an interview with NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff, disputed her account. 'They said I wasn't wearing my pin. My polo says 'United States Senate,'' Padilla said. 'There was no threat. There was no lunging. I raised my voice to ask a question, and it took, what, maybe, half a second before multiple agents were on me.' Read more and watch Padilla's interview. More politics news: House Republicans clashed with three Democratic governors — New York's Kathy Hochul, Illinois' JB Pritzker and Minnesota's Tim Walz — in a tense immigration hearing in Washington, D.C. The incident involving Padilla forced the Trump administration to go on the offensive, politics reporter Natasha Korecki writes in an analysis, capping a week in which the Democratic Party seems to have finally found its voice. The Republican-led House voted to pass a rescissions package that codified cuts proposed by DOGE and clawed back $9.4 billion in previously approved funding for foreign aid, NPR and PBS. Trump is set to host a major military parade tomorrow celebrating the Army's 250th anniversary. It also happens to be his 79th birthday. Here's everything to know about the event. 1 survivor, 241 killed in Air India plane crash More than 240 people died — and one passenger survived — after an Air India plane crashed in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff Thursday. The London-bound Boeing 787-8 aircraft struck a building where medical students were sitting down to lunch shortly after it took off around 1:38 p.m., local time. Video showed the plane's landing gear was still down when it crashed and created a ball of flames. There were 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board, Air India said in a statement; 241 people were killed. The survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, is 'doing well' but 'psychologically disturbed' by the event, according to the medical director of the Civil Hospital, where he is being treated. Ramesh's family told NBC News' European partner, Sky News, that Ramesh was dazed and that he said he couldn't find his brother or any other passengers after the crash. 'It's a miracle that he survived,' said Ramesh's brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh. 'But what other miracle for my other brother?' Here's what else we know. Read All About It There are empty shelves at Whole Foods stores across the country, and a cyberattack is to blame. At least five people are dead and two are missing after floodwaters swept away 15 vehicles in San Antonio. A Harvard scientist who was arrested last month and accused of smuggling frog embryos into the U.S. was released from federal custody. Staff Pick: 'We're fighting for my girl's life' An 11-year-old girl and U.S. citizen who is recovering from a rare brain tumor is now in Mexico after her undocumented parents were deported four months ago. In an exclusive interview with reporter Nicole Acevedo, the girl's mother said her condition has worsened without the specialized care she was getting in Texas. They've filed for humanitarian parole, hoping they can come back to continue her treatment. 'She's not going to be cured overnight,' the mother said. 'It takes time.' — Sandra Lilley, NBC Latino editorial director NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified For renters who want a simple way to upgrade their space, try the Poplight Sconce, a rechargeable light with an easy installation. Plus, if you're running a marathon or playing sports for hours, electrolyte powders are a fast and convenient way to stay hydrated.
The Guardian
38 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Millions in US expected to protest against Trump in ‘No Kings' protests
Millions of people are expected to protest against the Trump administration on Saturday at roughly 2,000 sites nationwide in a demonstration dubbed 'No Kings', planned for the same day as the president's military parade and birthday. Interest in the events has risen since Trump sent national guard and US Marine Corps troops to Los Angeles to tamp down mostly peaceful protests against ramped-up deportations. 'We've seen hundreds of new events on the No Kings Day map since the weekend,' said Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, one of the groups behind the 'day of defiance'. 'We've seen hundreds of thousands of people register for those events.' A website for the protest cites Trump's defying of the courts, mass deportations, attacks on civil rights and slashing of services as reasons for the protests, saying: 'The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings.' Actions are set for the country's largest cities and small towns, dotting the map from coast to coast – part of a strategy to show that opposition to Trump exists in all corners of the US. No Kings is not hosting an event in Washington DC, intending to take the focus off the military parade and show the power of the people outside the nation's capital. Philadelphia will host a flagship march instead, and a DC-based organization is hosting a 'DC Joy Day' in the district that will 'celebrate DC's people, culture, and our connections to one another'. 'We did not want to give him the excuse to crack down on counter-protesters in DC,' Levin said. 'We didn't want to give him the narrative device to say we're protesting the military. Instead, we wanted to make him look as small and weak as he is, and protest everywhere else in the country.' In early April, the 'Hands Off' protests drew a few million people to more than 1,300 locations. Levin expects No Kings to be bigger, despite Trump's threats to meet protesters with 'very big force', which the White House has since tried to soften. Trump, in a press conference this week, said people who protested the military parade 'hate our country' and were 'going to be met with very big force', though he said he wasn't aware of any planned protests against the event. The press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said Trump 'supports peaceful protests'. Asked about the No Kings protests during a White House event on Thursday, Trump said: 'I don't feel like a king. I have to go through hell to get things approved.' Organizers have expanded capacity for pre-protest trainings, given the increased security concerns after Trump's actions in Los Angeles. On a 'know your rights' call led by the American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday, a host said, at one point more than 18,000 people were on the call. Questions included whether to attend if you were a legal immigrant with a green card or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) status, how to respond if violence erupted, and what to do about potential agitators. Social media posts have spread widely, calling on people to sit down on the ground if violence breaks out, a tactic that could be useful in some circumstances or detrimental and unsafe in others, organizers have said. People should go to the protests with plans for what they will do to keep themselves safe, but not expect a blanket response like sitting down to work in all cases. Troops are still deployed in Los Angeles, and protests against their presence and against immigration enforcement actions are ongoing there. Hunter Dunn, the national press coordinator for the decentralized protest movement 50501, was teargassed in a crowd during a protest in Los Angeles over the arrest of the union leader David Huerta. Dunn is helping organize the No Kings action in Los Angeles, and 50501 is one of the partners for the day of protest nationally. The Los Angeles event is now organized against what's happening on the ground there, Dunn said. 'There's more explicit focus on getting Ice and the federal government out of Los Angeles, and it's become more obviously a protest against authoritarianism and fascism, I'd say, because we're actively under attack by our government,' Dunn said. No Kings protests will be taking place throughout the LA area, according to the map, with a large one expected near city hall. Organizers are increasing security and medical support preparations, Dunn said. 'If someone's legal status is at risk, I would not want them to risk it for a protest. But what I would want them to do is ask five of their neighbors to come in their stead,' Dunn said. 'Because if you stand up by yourself against the government, you're going to be crushed, you're going to be put down. But if an entire community rises up together in solidarity, there's not a government in the world that could crush that. We're safer together.' In Minnesota, Heather Friedli is helping organize a rally and march at the state capitol in St Paul. The community, which saw massive protests and riots after the murder of George Floyd by police in 2020, worries about targeting by the Trump administration as the president seeks a redo of his response to protests five years ago. But, Friedli said, she's heard a lot of feedback that people are prepared to protest no matter what. 'I think our people are actually ready. You know, maybe in some terrible sense, like, that was awful, everything that happened, but in a lot of ways that started those community connections that we maintain to this day, and I think we're stronger for it,' she said. While many Americans feel the country is at an inflection point with Trump's use of troops to quash protests, there have been several inflection points recently, starting with his win last November, Levin said. This moment will likely be 'among the largest catalytic events', driven in large part by Trump 'overplaying his hand'. Saturday's protests should pull new people into the Trump opposition movement and help build more capacity for future events, Levin said. 'Do we suddenly save democracy on Saturday? No. Does Trump suddenly step down on Saturday? No, that's not how this works,' Levin said. 'The way we think of it is, we're building a muscle. We're doing quite a big workout on Saturday. But it is a tactic in an extended strategy to safeguard American democracy.'
