Trump seizes on Los Angeles protests in contentious use of military amid migrant crackdown
CNN — This is the showdown the White House has been waiting for.
Unrest sparked by federal immigration raids in Los Angeles provided a questionable catalyst for President Donald Trump to stage a demonstration of military force.
His deployment of National Guard troops, against the wishes of California's governor and LA's mayor — both Democrats — appears at this point to be mostly for show, intended to create the perception of the administration getting tough.
But the reservists' presence at a fraught, politicized moment could worsen tensions and even become a trip wire that prompts more aggressive administration action. Northern Command said Sunday evening that 500 US Marines were now on 'prepared to deploy' status ahead of what would be a stunning and constitutionally dubious escalation if they were to show up in Los Angeles.
Weekend protests saw law enforcement officers in riot gear use tear gas and flash bangs to disperse crowds in downtown Los Angeles and the nearby city of Paramount. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said demonstrators threw objects and were violent toward federal agents and deputy sheriffs.
Trump is relishing his response. 'Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,' the president posted on Truth Social on Sunday.
He seems to be eyeing political objectives that go beyond the immediate situation in Los Angeles, which, compared with historical precedents, hardly seems to justify a unilateral presidential intervention.
He is delivering a warning to Democratic jurisdictions nationwide that oppose his deportation moves. And he's not simply demonstrating his desire to militarize his crackdown on undocumented migrants, which he promised in the 2024 campaign despite legal constraints. He's implying he'll use the military, specifically the National Guard, to act against protest and dissent — a prospect that is troubling in a democratic society.
Trump's move on Saturday is also a hint that he's willing to trample tradition and potentially constitutional limits down the line and that he wants to exploit what Republicans see as Democratic weakness on public order. And it buttresses the authoritarian image-making of a strongman commander in chief who ended last week ringside at a UFC fight and who will cap this week with tanks rumbling through the capital, on his birthday, at a parade ostensibly marking the Army's 250th anniversary.
President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Morristown, New Jersey, on June 8, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Trump barges in on California's problem
Trump gave the order to send 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles after several days of protests and unrest following Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that netted dozens of arrests. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday night that the move was necessary because of the failure of California authorities to protect federal immigration officials and their own citizens.
CNN's Priscilla Alvarez and Betsy Klein reported that White House officials first decided to rush federal agents and resources to Los Angeles to protect ICE agents and guard one of the federal buildings where protests gathered. On Saturday evening, the decision was taken to send in the guard.
Despite the heated rhetoric of administration officials and Republican lawmakers on Sunday, however, there were few signs that disorder is raging out of control or that local authorities cannot cope. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has accused Trump of taking a 'purposefully inflammatory' step, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said National Guard deployments were not 'called for.' And by the standards of outbursts of unrest in the US over the past few decades, the situation in Los Angeles does not appear especially acute.
On Sunday, National Guard troops took up positions in three locations in Los Angeles, in what appeared to be the first instance in decades of reservists being deployed by a president without coordination with a governor.
CNN crews captured California National Guard troops, operating under the authority of Trump rather than Newsom after the president called them into federal service, pushing back demonstrators outside a detention center. A federal officer was seen firing what appeared to be a gas canister.
The stationing of troops at federal facilities is a potentially significant distinction since they were not initially being used in active law enforcement. Such a step would infringe on the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars federal troops from participating in law enforcement unless specifically authorized by the law or Congress.
Even in this case, though, the legal situation is not definitive. The administration has not so far invoked the Insurrection Act, which in some circumstances permits the president to use the military to end an insurrection or rebellion of federal power in a state.
An objective analysis of the situation in Los Angeles suggests no such extreme disorder yet. But one top administration official seems to be choosing his language with precision. Domestic policy adviser Stephen Miller posted on X that there were two choices: 'Deport the invaders, or surrender to insurrection.'
The echoing of the Insurrection Act by a powerful administration figure who claims an 'invasion' of migrants justifies Trump's use of emergency and all but unlimited executive power is probably not a coincidence. The president doubled down in a Sunday Truth Social post, claiming 'violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking' federal agents.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, right, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta look on during a news conference on April 16, 2025, in Ceres, California.How the situation plays into Trump's political goals
The National Guard deployment clearly risks politicizing the military. But it's a political no-brainer for the White House.
Images of troops in combat gear, and the administration's vows to enforce order if local leaders won't, boost Trump's tough-guy image, which is an important factor in his appeal to his supporters. It bolsters Republican claims of fecklessness in liberal-run cities that have been plagued by homelessness and crime.
By sending troops in over Newsom's head, Trump escalates his feud with the governor, who is one of the most prominent national Democrats at a time when Trump is threatening to pull federal funding to the state. This may also serve as a warning to other blue states that they could see the militarization of the deportation program if they don't cooperate.
Then there's the distraction factor.
The theatrics of troop arrivals may help disguise the fact that deportations have yet to reach the levels some supporters likely hoped for. And at a dicey political moment, following his public estrangement from Elon Musk and with doubts hanging over his massive domestic spending bill, escalating an immigration controversy serves to change the subject for Trump. Immigration has long been one of his reliable political havens. Still, a new CBS poll Sunday showed that while a majority approve of Trump's goals on the issue, 56% fault his approach.
Republicans drive home political message
Top Republicans were quick to back Trump's California moves after days when Washington was consumed by the president's psychodrama with Musk.
'You have a very weak, lawless-leaning governor in Gov. Newsom, who's not enforcing the nation's laws,' Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma told CNN's Dana Bash on 'State of the Union.' He went on, 'The president has made it very clear: If the governor or the mayor of the city isn't willing to protect the citizens of his state or the city, then the president will.'
Another Republican senator, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, had few concerns about using National Guard troops. 'You provide massive manpower to prevent violence,' he told Bash. 'It would be nice if Democrat politicians wouldn't keep stirring it up and keep asking people to go out there and protest against lawful law enforcement actions. That's kind of hard to stomach.'
Oklahoma's other Republican senator, James Lankford, said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' that Trump was trying to 'de-escalate all the tensions' by sending troops.
Democrats, however, lashed out at Trump's move.
'My concern, of course, is that this inflames the situation and that he is hellbent on inflaming the situations,' Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar said on CBS' 'Face the Nation.'
'Individual governors look at their states. They make decisions,' Klobuchar said. 'But in this case, the president, time and time again, has shown this willingness to, one, violate the law, as we've seen across the country in many different situations outside of the immigration context. And two, inflame situations.'
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, warned on 'State of the Union' that 'we have a president who is moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism.'
Sanders added: 'This guy wants all of the power. He does not believe in the Constitution. He does not believe in the rule of law … he thinks he has a right to do anything he wants.'
Protesters block the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles on June 8, 2025.
Eric Thayer/AP
Hegseth inflames the situation
Concerns Trump is flexing authoritarian impulses and that the administration would relish confrontations that allow it to move in this direction were underscored by a post on X by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He wrote that if violence continued, 'Active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert.'
A threat by the defense secretary to deploy a force whose battle honors include Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima and Fallujah onto American streets does not only offend principles of democratic republican government. It would almost certainly be illegal, unless Trump invokes the Insurrection Act. At this point, the conditions of that legislation look nowhere near being met. Trump said Sunday he was not yet ready to invoke the act.
Still, all this is chilling given his warning last year that he'd be prepared to use the military against 'the enemy from within.'
This also comes after four months in which the administration has used questionable presidential power to target institutions from law firms to universities to the media. And it has used contentious national emergencies declared to unlock authorities on trade and immigration.
Common Defense, the country's largest grassroots veterans organization, condemned Trump's deployment of the California National Guard. 'The militarized response to protests in Los Angeles is a dangerous escalation that undermines civil rights and betrays the principles we swore to uphold,' said Naveed Shah, the group's political director and a US Army veteran.
Hegseth's post underscores one reason why critics regarded him as unsuitable to serve as defense secretary — the fear he'd do anything that Trump told him to, unlike first-term Pentagon chief Mark Esper, who wrote in his book that the president asked whether troops could shoot in the legs demonstrators who gathered at the White House amid the George Floyd protests.
Hegseth dodged in his confirmation hearing when repeatedly asked by Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono whether he'd carry out such an order from Trump. And he also hedged when asked by Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin whether he agreed that there were some orders a president may give that were unconstitutional. 'I am not going to get ahead of conversations I would have with the president. However, there are laws and processes inside our Constitution that would be followed,' Hegseth said.
Little in Hegseth's tenure so far suggests he'd stand up against any of the president's more extreme ideas. That's one reason why Trump's unilateral deployment of reserve troops to Los Angeles seems like the initial thrust of an expanding administration effort to use the military in a domestic context.
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Egypt Independent
20 minutes ago
- Egypt Independent
China has a valuable card to play as it holds trade talks with the US today
Hong Kong CNN — A new round of trade negotiations between the United States and China has started in London, with both sides trying to preserve a fragile truce brokered last month. The fresh talks were announced last week after a long-anticipated phone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, which appeared to ease tensions that erupted over the past month following a surprise agreement in Geneva. In May, the two sides agreed to drastically roll back tariffs on each other's goods for an initial 90-day period. The mood was upbeat. However, sentiment soured quickly over two major sticking points: China's control over so-called rare earths minerals and its access to semiconductor technology originating from the US. Beijing's exports of rare earths and their related magnets are expected to take center stage Monday at the London meeting. A person familiar with the matter told CNN the US-China talks were underway. China's official news agency Xinhua also reported the start of the discussions. Experts say Beijing is unlikely to give up its strategic grip over the essential minerals, which are needed in a wide range of electronics, vehicles and defense systems. 'China's control over rare earth supply has become a calibrated yet assertive tool for strategic influence,' Robin Xing, Morgan Stanley's chief China economist, wrote in a Monday research note. 'Its near-monopoly of the supply chain means rare earths will remain a significant bargaining chip in trade negotiations.' Since the talks in Geneva, Trump has accused Beijing of effectively blocking the export of rare earths, announcing additional chip curbs and threatening to revoke the US visas of Chinese students. The moves have provoked backlash from China, which views Washington's decisions as reneging on its trade promises. All eyes will be on whether both sides can come to a consensus in London on issues of fundamental importance. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng. On Saturday, Beijing appeared to send conciliatory signals. A spokesperson for China's Commerce Ministry, which oversees the export controls, said it had 'approved a certain number of compliant applications.' 'China is willing to further enhance communication and dialogue with relevant countries regarding export controls to facilitate compliant trade,' the spokesperson said. Kevin Hassett, head of the National Economic Council at the White House, told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday that the US side would be looking to restore the flow of rare earth minerals. 'Those exports of critical minerals have been getting released at a rate that is higher than it was, but not as high as we believe we agreed to in Geneva,' he said, adding that he is 'very comfortable' with a trade deal being made after the talks. On Monday morning in an interview with CNBC, Hassett said: 'This was a very significant sticking point, because China controls… something like 90 percent of the rare earths and the magnets. And if they're slow rolling, sending those to us because of some licensing deal that they set up, then it could potentially disrupt production for some US companies that rely on those things.' 'And there are enough of those, like, for example, auto companies, that President Trump took it very seriously, called President Xi and said, we got to we got to get this stuff coming out faster. And President Xi agreed,' he added. A valuable card to play In April, as tit-for-tat trade tension between the two countries escalated, China imposed a new licensing regime on seven rare earth minerals and several magnets, requiring exporters to seek approvals for each shipment and submit documentation to verify the intended end use of these materials. Following the trade truce negotiated in Geneva, the Trump administration expected China to lift restrictions on those minerals. But Beijing's apparent slow-walking of approvals triggered deep frustration within the White House, CNN reported last month. Rare earths are a group of 17 elements that are more abundant than gold and can be found in many countries, including the US. But they're difficult, costly and environmentally polluting to extract and process. China controls 90 percent of global rare earth processing. Experts say it's possible that Beijing may seek to use its leverage over rare earths to get Washington to ease its own export controls aimed at blocking China's access to advanced US semiconductors and related technologies. The American Chamber of Commerce in China said on Friday that some Chinese suppliers of American companies have received six-month export licenses. Reuters also reported that suppliers of major American carmakers – including General Motors, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis – were granted temporary export licenses for a period of up to six months. While China may step up the pace of license approvals to cool the diplomatic temperature, global access to Chinese rare earth minerals will likely remain more restricted than it was before April, according to a Friday research note by Leah Fahy, a China economist and other experts at Capital Economics, a London-based consultancy. 'Beijing had become more assertive in its use of export controls as tools to protect and cement its global position in strategic sectors, even before Trump hiked China tariffs this year,' the note said. China's economic woes As China tackles a tariff war with the US head on, it's clear that the disruptions are continuing to cause economic pain at home. Trade and price data released Monday painted a gloomy picture for the country's export-reliant economy. Aerial view of shipping containers sitting stacked at Shanghai Port on Monday in Shanghai, China. Long Wei/VCG/Getty Images Its overall overseas shipments rose by just 4.8 percent in May, compared to the same month a year earlier, according to data released by China's General Administration of Customs. It was a sharp slowdown from the 8.1 percent recorded in April, and lower than the estimate of 5.0 percent export growth from a Reuters poll of economists. Its exports to the US suffered a steep decline of 34.5 percent. The sharp monthly fall widened from a 21 percent drop in April and came despite the trade truce announced on May 12 that brought American tariffs on Chinese goods down from 145 percent to 30 percent. Still, Lü Daliang, a spokesperson for the customs department, talked up China's economic strength, telling the state-run media Xinhua that China's goods trade has demonstrated 'resilience in the face of external challenges.' 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Egypt Independent
an hour ago
- Egypt Independent
Champion of the people or a traitor? A new force emerges in southern Gaza
CNN — The photo shows a lean, tanned man in a dark helmet. He's grasping a rifle and UN vehicles move behind him as he waves through traffic. The man is Yasser Abu Shabab, who says he commands hundreds of armed men known as the Popular Forces to offer protection to international organizations working in southern Gaza. In his early thirties, Abu Shabab is from a prominent Bedouin family in southern Gaza. On October 7, 2023, he was languishing in a Hamas-run jail in Gaza, accused of drug trafficking, before being released after the conflict started. Now he is an emerging presence in southern Gaza, controlling aid routes near the crucial Kerem Shalom crossing and providing men to guard convoys against looting, which has only worsened since limited aid started entering Gaza in mid-May following an Israeli blockade. As Hamas' grip on Gaza has weakened and the territory's police force has been hollowed out, gangs have emerged to steal humanitarian aid from convoys and re-sell it. But many convoys are also stopped and ransacked by desperate civilians. Abu Shabab told CNN that he leads 'a group of citizens from this community who have volunteered to protect humanitarian aid from looting and corruption.' The reality is more complicated. Israeli officials have acknowledged providing weapons to Abu Shabab's militia, as part of an operation to arm local groups to counter Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the covert enterprise earlier this week, saying the security forces had 'activated clans in Gaza which oppose Hamas.' He did not name Abu Shabab, but Israeli officials told CNN that Abu Shabab is part of the program. Abu Shabab insisted to CNN that his men had not received weapons from the Israelis. 'Our equipment is extremely basic, passed down by volunteers from their forefathers or assembled from limited local resources.' For its part, Hamas says Abu Shabab is a traitor and a gangster. Last week, the group said: 'We pledge before God to continue confronting the dens of that criminal and his gang, no matter the cost of the sacrifices we make.' Hamas killed his brother last year and has tried to kill Abu Shabab at least twice, according to Muhammad Shehada, a Gaza analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations. In response to written questions from CNN, Abu Shabab repeatedly denied any connection with the Israeli military, saying: 'Our forces do not engage in any form of communication with the Israeli army, neither directly nor indirectly.' Analysts find that difficult to believe, based on evidence of his movements in Israeli-controlled areas of Gaza. One video from late May shows Abu Shabab stopping a Red Cross vehicle and talking with an official. CNN geolocated the encounter to an Israeli-controlled buffer zone close to the crossing point at Kerem Shalom. Other videos show encounters with United Nations' convoys in the same area. Israel – and in particular Netanyahu – has never laid out clear plans for what governance and security in Gaza might look like if or when Hamas is defeated. Israel has been trying to find groups or clans opposed to Hamas who might play a role, but more recently Netanyahu and other ministers endorsed a plan put forward by US President Donald Trump for relocating Gaza's residents and redeveloping the territory. A growing role Abu Shabab has had a presence near the ruins of Gaza's long defunct airport in Rafah since late last year. Shehada at the ECFR said that while the ceasefire held earlier this year, his group appeared to vanish. But his significance has grown in recent weeks, since Israeli authorities began to allow a trickle of aid to reach Gaza through Kerem Shalom in mid-May. Abu Shabab's social media presence, along with slick videos and fluent English commentary, has expanded. 'It's nearly impossible this is being done inside Gaza,' Shehada said. 'It's probably someone outside that is running this entire psy-op.' A diplomatic official told CNN that the UN had to deal with local elements as it tried to distribute aid, whether they are backed by Hamas or not. A truck carrying aid makes its way to Gaza at the Kerem Shalom crossing on May 19. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters Abu Shabab 'has a few square kilometers of an area under his control, and then it's on to the next guy,' the official said. 'The fact that he is not targeted by the Israelis is a clear indication of how they see him.' The official also asserted that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – the controversial new US-backed organization tasked with distributing aid in Gaza – had contact with Abu Shabab, whether directly or indirectly. Abu Shabab responded to CNN that 'with regard to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, we stress the need for its work to operate within a unified national framework and to maintain continuous coordination with all legitimate parties.' GHF told CNN on Sunday that it had no collaboration at all with Abu Shabab's group. 'We do have local Palestinian workers we are very proud of but none is armed and they do not belong to Abu Shabab's organization,' GHF said. Convoys and more Last month, soon after limited aid began entering Gaza, Abu Shabab posted that his group had secured 101 trucks of aid, mostly flour, brought in by the World Food Programme, and praised 'my loyal brothers who sacrificed their lives, and everyone who volunteered their primitive weapons or a drop of sweat to feed the bereaved and displaced.' Truck drivers told CNN that Shabab had provided 200 armed men to protect the convoys. 'Our forces regularly accompany aid convoys, and protecting vulnerable civilians is one of our top priorities,' Abu Shabab told CNN. His group's role has expanded beyond protecting convoys. On May 17, the day before the Kerem Shalom crossing reopened, work started on a tent encampment in eastern Rafah, according to satellite imagery reviewed by CNN. That work appears to have concluded on May 30. The camp is less than 500 meters from where Abu Shabab runs checkpoints. Members of the Popular Forces can be seen in this image posted on the group's Facebook page. From Popular Forces/Facebook Four days later the so-called Popular Forces issued a statement saying that Abu Shabab 'invites the residents of these areas to return, where food, drink, shelter, security and safety have been provided, shelter camps have been set up, and humanitarian relief routes have been opened.' The encampment is in an area known as the Morag Corridor, to which the Israeli military wants Gazans to move as it orders evacuation orders for much of the strip. Early in May, the far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the population of Gaza, would be 'concentrated' in a narrow strip of land between the Egyptian border and the corridor. A senior Israeli security official said at the same time that the goal was to separate humanitarian aid from Hamas 'by involving civilian companies and creating a secured zone patrolled by the IDF.' This would include a 'sterile area in the Rafah region beyond the Morag route, where IDF will screen all entrants to prevent Hamas infiltrators.' Palestinian branding Abu Shabab's force uses Palestinian insignia and flags prominently on its uniforms, but he told CNN that his 'grassroots forces are not an official authority, nor are we operating under a direct mandate from the Palestinian Authority.' The office of the spokesperson for the Palestinian Security Forces, Major General Anwar Rajab, told CNN there was no connection between the Palestinian security apparatus and Abu Shabab's group. Nor does his family want anything to do with him. 'Leaders and elders of the Abu Shabab family' said in a statement that they had confronted him about videos showing 'Yasser's groups involved in dangerous security engagements, even working within undercover units and supporting the Zionist occupation forces that brutally kill our people.' The family declared its 'complete disassociation from Yasser Abu Shabab' and urged anyone who had joined his security groups to do the same. 'We have no objection to those around him eliminating him immediately; we state clearly that his blood is wasted,' the family statement said. Abu Shabab told CNN that the statement was 'fabricated and false' and accompanied by 'a media campaign targeting me and my colleagues.' He said his group had endured 'false accusations and systematic smear campaigns, and we have paid a heavy price,' also alleging that Hamas had killed several of the group's volunteers 'and members of my own family while we were guarding aid convoys for international organizations.' Yasser Abu Shabab can be seen in this image posted on the Popular Forces' Facebook page. From Popular Forces/Facebook Muhammad Shehada at ECFR said there is evidence that Abu Shabab's presence is expanding with Israeli support into Khan Younis, to the north of his stronghold. Even so, his reach is still limited. The Popular Forces speaks of 'hundreds of daily requests we receive on our Facebook page from individuals seeking to join us,' but analysts believe Abu Shabab probably has only about 300 men under his command. Most people in Gaza would never think of joining him for fear of being branded collaborators, said Shehada. Even so, he added, Abu Shabab's militia now serve multiple functions for the Israelis, helping control where aid goes, or does not go; trying to entice desperate and hungry people to the so-called 'safe zone' in eastern Rafah; and carrying out high-risk missions to detect the presence of Hamas fighters.
Egypt Independent
an hour ago
- Egypt Independent
Israeli military says it has recovered body of elusive Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar
CNN — The The Israeli military says it has recovered the body of de facto Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in southern Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) made the announcement on Sunday after the body went through an identification process. Sinwar is the younger brother of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by the Israeli military in southern Gaza in October. His death marks the latest in a string of assassinations that have dealt a serious blow to the group's top brass but are yet to break its grip on power in the besieged enclave. The elusive Sinwar was targeted in a massive airstrike on the hospital in Khan Younis on May 13, a day after Hamas released Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander. At the time, the IDF claimed it had struck 'Hamas terrorists in a command-and-control center' in underground infrastructure at the hospital. But it took more than two weeks for Israel to say that it had definitively killed Sinwar in the strike. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement on the 600th day of the war two weeks ago. 'We changed the face of the Middle East, we pushed the terrorists from our territories, we entered the Gaza Strip with force, we eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, we eliminated (Mohammad) Deif, (Ismail) Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Sinwar,' Netanyahu said in a speech at the Knesset, Israel's parliament. The attack killed 28 Palestinians and wounded more than 50 others, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said after the strike. This is a developing story and will be updated.
