In a landmark legal decision, a federal judge today ruled that President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard to enforce immigration law and quell protests in Los Angeles was illegal, a stinging rebuke to the President’s “law and order” agenda. The ruling, a victory for a lawsuit brought by California Governor Gavin Newsom, affirms the constitutional limits on a President’s power and delivers a blow to the White House’s ability to unilaterally deploy military forces on American soil.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, in a lengthy and detailed opinion, found that the administration had “willfully” violated the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, a law designed to prevent the military from acting as a domestic police force. Judge Breyer’s ruling states that the administration “systematically used armed soldiers and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and otherwise demonstrate a military presence in and around Los Angeles.”
The judge’s decision came after California sued the administration, arguing that the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to the Los Angeles area in June was an unconstitutional overreach. The Trump administration had justified the deployment by claiming it was necessary to protect federal personnel and property, but Judge Breyer’s ruling was skeptical, noting that “there was no rebellion, nor was civilian law enforcement unable to respond.”
“No president is a king—not even Trump—and no president can trample a state’s power to protect its people,” Governor Newsom said in a statement posted on X, calling the decision a win for democracy.
The ruling has been met with immediate defiance from the White House, which has vowed to appeal the decision. A White House spokesperson blasted the ruling as a politically motivated attack from a “far-left court” and insisted that the deployment was well within the President’s authority. The administration’s lawyers have argued that the Posse Comitatus Act does not apply to the National Guard when federalized under a specific provision, a claim that Judge Breyer rejected.
Legal experts say the ruling could have far-reaching implications, potentially setting a precedent that will limit the President’s ability to deploy military and federal law enforcement forces against the wishes of a state’s governor. For now, the injunction is paused until September 12, giving the administration time to appeal, but the ruling has already set off a national debate on the use of federal military power in American cities.