Federal Judge Rules Trump Takeover of California Guard Illegal, Orders Control Returned to Governor
On June 12, 2025, Judge Charles R. Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order after a hearing, ruling that President Trump's takeover of the California National Guard was illegal and ordering the federal government to return control of the Guard to Governor Gavin Newsom forthwith. The troops covered by the order were serving in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California; the judge stayed his order until noon on June 13.
"His actions were illegal, both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution," Breyer wrote. "He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith." The court concluded that California was likely to succeed on the merits: none of the predicates for federalization under 10 U.S.C. § 12406 existed, and the federalization order had not been issued "through the governor" of California, as the statute requires.
The lawsuit had been filed on June 9 by Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Newsom. By June 12, the federal government had placed a total of 4,000 California National Guard members under federal command, and 700 Marines had also been ordered to Los Angeles. Breyer's order barred the deployment of the federalized Guard in Los Angeles, but he declined to rule that day on California's request to block the Marine deployment.
"With this order, the Trump Administration is blocked from using federalized California National Guard troops to patrol our neighborhoods or carry out civilian law enforcement work," Bonta said after the ruling, adding that the right to peacefully protest is a cornerstone of any healthy democracy and that California and local law enforcement stand ready to protect communities and their right to be heard safely and peacefully.
The administration immediately appealed. On the evening of June 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an administrative stay temporarily pausing the restraining order pending further order, leaving the Guard under federal command for the time being, and set a hearing on the stay motion for June 17.
Related: California Sues Trump and Hegseth Challenging National Guard Federalization Order
(Source: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California)
Source: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 San Francisco 的 Phillip Burton 联邦大楼与美国法院，法官 Charles Breyer 在此审理本案并签发临时限制令。CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Phillip Burton Federal Building and United States Courthouse in San Francisco, where Judge Charles Breyer heard the case and issued the temporary restraining order. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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