Appeals court hears arguments on Trump's Los Angeles troop deployment

Straits Times

4 hours ago

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Marines stand watch as people protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's policies and federal immigration sweeps during a No Kings Day demonstration in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/David Ryder/File Photo
A federal appeals court began hearing arguments on Tuesday on Donald Trump's legal authority to deploy the National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles amid protests and civil unrest, days after a judge ruled that the Republican president had called the National Guard into service unlawfully.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer's ruling last Thursday was put on hold hours later by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Trump administration is seeking a longer pause while it appeals.
Justice Department lawyer Brett Shumate told a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit during arguments on Tuesday that Breyer "improperly second-guessed the president's judgment" about the need to call up the National Guard in order to protect federal property and personnel from "mob violence" in Los Angeles.
"There is no role for the court to play in reviewing that decision," Shumate said.
Breyer, in San Francisco, had ruled that the president unlawfully took control of California's National Guard and deployed 4,000 troops to Los Angeles against the wishes of Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom. Trump also ordered 700 U.S. Marines to the city after sending in the National Guard, but Breyer has not yet ruled on the legality of the Marines' mobilization.
Breyer said Trump had not complied with the law that allows him to take control of the National Guard to address rebellions or invasions, and ordered Trump to return control of California's National Guard to Newsom, who sued over the deployment.
Trump's decision to send troops into Los Angeles prompted a national debate about the use of the military on U.S. soil and inflamed political tensions in a city in the midst of protest and turmoil over the president's immigration raids.
Political unrest spread to other parts of the country over the weekend, when a gunman assassinated a Democratic lawmaker in Minnesota and large protests took place in many other cities to coincide with a military parade that celebrated the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary on the same day as Trump's 79th birthday.
California's lawsuit, filed on June 9, argues that Trump's deployment of the National Guard and the Marines violate the state's sovereignty and U.S. laws that forbid federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement.
The Trump administration has denied that troops are engaging in law enforcement, saying that they were instead protecting federal buildings and personnel, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
The administration argues that the law gives the president sole discretion to determine whether a "rebellion or danger of a rebellion" requires a military response and that neither the courts nor a state governor can second-guess that determination.
In Thursday's order, Breyer said the protest fell far short of qualifying as a rebellion.
"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," Breyer wrote.
The 9th Circuit panel consists of two judges appointed by Trump in his first term and one judge appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden. REUTERS
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