Trump administration deploys Marines to LA and says California governor Gavin Newsom should be arrested
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Newsom vows to sue US president, saying sending in National Guard was an illegal actTrump administration deploys Marines to Los Angeles, vows to intensify migrant raidsMarines expected to reach Los Angeles on Monday night or Tuesday morningPolice break up downtown L.A. protest that had returned for a fourth dayProtests flare in at least nine other U.S. cities
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US president Donald Trump said yesterday he would support the arrest of California governor Gavin Newsom, in a dramatic escalation of a growing conflict with the Democrat about immigration protests that roiled Los Angeles during the weekend.
The Republican president's remarks came after Mr Newsom vowed to sue the federal government over the deployment of National Guard troops to Southern California, calling it an illegal act.
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Irish Times
38 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Appeals court allows Trump to keep National Guard in Los Angeles
A US appeals court on Thursday allowed president Donald Trump to maintain his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles amid protests over stepped-up immigration enforcement, temporarily pausing a lower court ruling that blocked the mobilisation. The Ninth US circuit court of appeals' decision does not mean that the court will ultimately agree with Mr Trump, but it does leave command of the National Guard with the president for now. Earlier on Thursday, San Francisco-based US district judge Charles Breyer found that Mr Trump's deployment of the National Guard was unlawful. Mr Breyer's 36-page ruling had ordered the National Guard to return to the control of California governor Gavin Newsom, who had brought the case. It was a short-lived victory for Mr Newsom, as judge Breyer's order was paused about two and a half hours later. READ MORE Asked for a comment, Mr Newsom's press office referred to the governor's statement after the initial ruling, and noted that the appeals court put a temporary pause on the ruling but did not reverse it. 'I'm confident, on the basis of the review of the 36 pages – absolutely it will stand,' Mr Newsom said of the district judge's order. The three-judge appeals court panel consisted of two judges appointed by Mr Trump in his first term and one judge who was appointed by Democratic president Joe Biden. The panel said it would hold a hearing on Tuesday to consider the merits of judge Breyer's order. The court's action, called an administrative stay, gives the appeals judges additional time to consider the Trump administration's request to block judge Breyer's order while litigation in the case continues. Mr Trump summoned the National Guard on Saturday in response to protests that had broken out over immigration raids, then on Monday ordered the US Marines to support the National Guard. A battalion of 700 US Marines is expected to arrive on Friday, marking an extraordinary use of military forces to support civilian police operations within the United States. The troops have stood guard at a federal detention centre in downtown Los Angeles where many of the protests have taken place in a show of solidarity for immigrants detained inside. The protests so far have been mostly peaceful, punctuated by incidents of violence, and restricted to a few city blocks. The National Guard had also accompanied Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents on operations to detain immigrants. In his ruling, judge Breyer wrote that the presence of the troops in the city was itself inflaming tensions with protesters – a contention made by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, among others – and depriving the state of the ability to use the National Guard for other purposes. Ms Bass on Thursday called on Ice officers to stand down from the intensified series of raids that led to the protests, saying the local economy could be harmed as immigrants stayed home from work and school for fear of being snatched off the streets. 'The peace that we need to have happen needs to begin in Washington, and we need to stop the raids,' Ms Bass told a press conference as supporters flanking her broke out in a chant of 'Stop the raids'. 'Peace begins with Ice leaving Los Angeles,' said Bass, who has imposed a night-time curfew more than 2.5 sq km of downtown Los Angeles. Ms Bass spoke after department of homeland securitysSecretary Kristi Noem said she would 'liberate' Los Angeles at a press conference that was dramatically interrupted when federal agents dragged Democratic US senator Alex Padilla out of the room, forced him to the ground and handcuffed him. The court battle and press conference scuffle underscored the political polarisation generated by Mr Trump's hardline approach to immigration enforcement and expansive use of presidential power. Mr Trump is carrying out a campaign promise to deport immigrants, employing forceful tactics consistent with the norm-breaking political style that got him elected twice. Democrats have said the use of military force was unnecessary and an example of Mr Trump's authoritarianism. Americans are divided over Mr Trump's decision to activate the military. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 48 per cent of respondents agreed with a statement that the president should 'deploy the military to bring order to the streets' when protests turned violent, while 41 per cent disagreed. Between the rulings, Mr Newsom said the National Guard would be redeployed to its previous tasks, including border security, preparing for wildfires and countering drug smuggling. But the Trump administration immediately appealed the judge's order, calling judge Breyer's ruling 'an extraordinary intrusion on the President's constitutional authority as Commander in Chief.' Mr Trump justified the deployment of troops by characterising the protests in Los Angeles as a 'rebellion,' but judge Breyer said in his temporary restraining order that the protests fell far short of that legal standard. 'The Court is troubled by the implication inherent in Defendants' argument that protest against the federal government, a core civil liberty protected by the First Amendment, can justify a finding of rebellion,' judge Breyer wrote. Mr Trump has said if he had not ordered in the National Guard the city would be in flames. – Reuters
The Journal
an hour ago
- The Journal
US defence secretary suggests Pentagon has plans to invade Greenland and Panama
US DEFENCE SECRETARY Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force, but refused to answer repeated questions on his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations during a hotly combative congressional hearing yesterday. Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee repeatedly got into heated exchanges with Hegseth, with some of the toughest lines of questioning coming from military veterans as many demanded yes or no answers and he tried to avoid direct responses about his actions as Pentagon chief. In one back-and-forth, Hegseth did provide an eyebrow-raising answer when Representative Adam Smith asked whether the Pentagon has plans to take Greenland or Panama by force if necessary. 'Our job at the Defence Department is to have plans for any contingency,' Hegseth said several times. Guardian News / YouTube It is not unusual for the Pentagon to draw up contingency plans for conflicts that have not arisen, but his handling of the questions prompted a Republican lawmaker to step in a few minutes later. Representative Mike Turner asked: 'It is not your testimony today that there are plans at the Pentagon for taking by force or invading Greenland, correct?' As Hegseth started to repeat his answer about contingency plans, Turner added emphatically, 'I sure as hell hope that is not your testimony.' 'We look forward to working with Greenland to ensure that it is secured from any potential threats,' Hegseth responded. Time and again, officials pressed Hegseth to answer questions he has avoided for months, including during the two previous days of hearings on Capitol Hill. And frustration boiled over. 'You're an embarrassment to this country. You're unfit to lead,' Salud Carbajal snapped, the California Democrat's voice rising. 'You should just get the hell out.' President Donald Trump has said multiple times that he wants to take control of the strategic, mineral-rich island nation of Greenland, long a US ally. Advertisement Those remarks have been met with flat rejections from Greenland's leaders. 'Greenland is not for sale,' Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland's representative to the US, said on Thursday at a forum in Washington sponsored by the Arctic Institute. In an effort not to show the Pentagon's hand on its routine effort to have plans for everything, Hegseth danced around the direct question from Smith, leading to the confusion. 'Speaking on behalf of the American people, I don't think the American people voted for President Trump because they were hoping we would invade Greenland,' Smith said. Hegseth's use of two Signal chats to discuss plans for US strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen with other US leaders as well as members of his family prompted dizzying exchanges with representatives. He was pressed multiple times over whether or not he shared classified information and if he should face accountability if he did. Hegseth argued that the classification markings of any information about those military operations could not be discussed. That became a quick trap, as Hegseth has asserted that nothing he posted — on strike times and munitions dropped in March — was classified. His questioner, Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and Marine veteran, jumped on the disparity. 'You can very well disclose whether or not it was classified,' Moulton said. 'What's not classified is that it was an incredible, successful mission,' Hegseth responded. A Pentagon watchdog report on his Signal use is expected soon. Moulton then asked Hegseth whether he would hold himself accountable if the inspector general finds that he placed classified information on Signal, a commercially available app. Hegseth would not directly say, only noting that he serves 'at the pleasure of the president'.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Trump says he may ‘have to force' US interest rate change in attack on Jay Powell
Donald Trump has called Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell a 'numbskull' for not cutting interest rates , saying the White House may 'have to force something' if the US central bank does not reduce borrowing costs. The president on Thursday repeated his calls for the Fed to cut borrowing costs by a full percentage point – a measure Trump said would save the US hundreds of billions of dollars a year on its debt. 'We are going to spend $600 billion (€520 billion) a year because of one numbskull that sits there, [saying] 'I don't see enough reason to cut the rates',' Mr Trump told reporters, referring to Mr Powell, who he has nicknamed 'too late'. The president added: 'I may have to force something.' Mr Trump did not specify what he meant by force – and said he would not fire the Fed chairman ahead of the end of his term in May 2026. READ MORE The president's comments came less than a week before the central bank's June meeting, in which policymakers are expected to hold rates steady. The Fed has this year halted a rate-cutting cycle that began in 2024 over concerns that Trump's trade tariffs could fuel a fresh bout of inflation. At 4.25 per cent to 4.5 per cent, the Fed's benchmark target range is more than double the main European Central Bank interest rate, following several moves by euro zone rate-setters this year. Mr Powell has repeatedly said the Fed will set rates based on data, rather than Mr Trump's wishes for lower borrowing costs, including at a meeting late last month that was held at the president's request. Mr Trump's repeated attacks on Mr Powell over his reluctance to cut rates this year have sparked speculation that he could speed up the nomination process for Mr Powell's successor. Remarks last Friday from Mr Trump that he could make a decision on a potential successor 'very soon' have led to speculation among some economists that he could nominate a 'shadow Fed chair' in a bid to massage expectations of future rate cuts once his preferred candidate takes charge of the central bank. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, who is seen as one of the leading candidates to replace Mr Powell, proposed the idea of creating a shadow Fed chief in an interview in October. Stanford academic and former Fed governor Kevin Warsh, National Economic Council head Kevin Hassett and current Fed governor Christopher Waller are also considered potential candidates for the job. The 'shadow' role could, in theory, move expectations of where interest rates will be years from now, which would – if credible – lead to immediate movements in US borrowing costs. However, Fed-watchers are sceptical on whether a shadow Fed chairman could influence expectations of future rate cuts in an environment of heightened economic uncertainty. 'Markets are not going to defer to an individual who is not yet confirmed as a member of the Fed board, much less the chair,' said Doug Rediker, managing partner at International Capital Strategies. 'If you want to make sure you are upending investor confidence in an already tense treasury market, then make sure you have competing voices on what the Fed is going to do.' He added: 'The earlier Trump names someone, the more opportunity he or she has to say or do something that puts a bullseye on their head and for people to find reasons to oppose them.' – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
