Trump's Los Angeles Intervention: A Unprecedented Move Questioned in Court
L.A. National Guard ruling found unlawful by court.
In a shocking turn of events, Judge Charles Breyer of the San Francisco district court has declared that President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops in California is illegal. Breyer granted an emergency application filed by the state, stating that Trump had crossed his boundaries and must cede control of the National Guard back to California. This temporary restraining order takes effect on Friday afternoon. The US government has announced plans to appeal the ruling.
California Governor, Gavin Newsom, has been a vocal critic of the thousands of National Guard soldiers and the deployment of Marine infantry in Los Angeles at Trump's behest due to the unrest caused by immigration policies. In a fiery statement, he said, "The court just confirmed what we all know: The military belongs on the battlefield, not on our city streets."
In the United States, individual states usually oversee the National Guard. However, in cases of war or national emergencies, the President can assume control. The National Guard, a military reserve unit and part of the US armed forces, can be called upon for natural disasters, riots, or internal crises.
Newsom's resistance against the President's orders is an anomaly in American politics. Since 1965, no US President had bypassed a state's declared will to take charge of its National Guard. The protests against the government's immigration policy in Los Angeles have been labeled as anything but rebellion, as Judge Breyer put it.
The nation witnessed demonstrations in Los Angeles against Trump's immigration policies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. The US government sent 4,000 National Guard soldiers and 700 regular military infantry to Los Angeles. Their arrival has been phased, with the troops planning to stay until the threat subsides, as per Trump's wishes. A deployment of up to 60 days has been scheduled so far.
Historical precedents of such federal action can be traced back to the civil rights era of the 1960s. Presidents Johnson and Kennedy exercised their authority to federalize the National Guard to enforce federal laws and safeguard civil rights, despite opposition from governors. Since then, the custom has been for presidents to adhere to the requirement of a governor's request, making recent unilateral federal deployments an extraordinary anomaly.
- California
- USA
- Politics
- Donald Trump
The historical rarity of U.S. Presidents taking control of a state's National Guard against the will of the state's governor makes the current situation in California an exceptionally challenging and contentious affair. Bypassing the typical protocol sets a significant precedent that could reshape the balance of power between federal and state governments in the United States.
The current political standoff in California, where President Donald Trump is attempting to control the state's National Guard against the will of Governor Gavin Newsom, is a unique situation in American politics that may redefine the balance of power between federal and state governments. This unusual move by the President has sparked heated debates and legal challenges, as the Commission has also been consulted on the draft directive, reflecting the general-news significance of this issue.
